The rain persists amid breezy conditions Thursday morning and afternoon, with temperatures remaining in the 60s. It’s actually a pretty interesting weather pattern for meteorologists to observe, but it will hardly mean anything for your day-to-day life outside of packing an umbrella once again.
The jet stream has been pinched and shoved south of New England. You can see the deep U-shape below. What does this mean for our weather? It means cooler air for New England north of the jet stream, plus continued rain as two areas of low-pressure form, one just off the coast of Southern New England, and another to the northwest. These two lows will compete on Thursday and early Friday and sort of dance around each other. Fun to see, but they’ll share energy and just keep scattered pockets of showers and light rain around for most of Thursday and into Friday.
The coastal low that forms just south of New England by early Thursday will send a surge of moisture our way, resulting in clusters of showers and a few rumbles of thunder north through New England during the day. There may be some dry stretches mixed in with some pockets of steady rainfall, so it’s best to plan ahead.
Some wind gusts could reach 20 mph Thursday morning and into the early afternoon, especially along the coast and across the city.
Temperatures stay in the 50s and 60s
Highs will mirror Wednesday with most of the region slowly crawling to the upper 50s and low 60s under mostly cloudy to overcast skies.
Northern New England will have a harder time breaking into the 60s, with many areas settling into the 50s.
Much-needed rainfall to top 2 inches
Scattered showers will last through Thursday night with a few backside showers lingering into Friday.
All in all, the multi-day rain totals will top 2 inches in some areas, very beneficial to the region. Boston should end up with about an inch to an inch and a half by Friday morning. This rainy stretch should help satisfy some thirsty soil, especially up north, with widespread drought firmly in place. The Boston area and other parts of Massachusetts have seen worsened drought conditions after a dry April.
Showers fade on Friday before a gorgeous, warm, and sunny weekend.
Thursday breakdown
Greater Boston: Cloudy with patchy fog. On and off showers and pockets of light rain most of the day. Highs to the upper 50s and low 60s.
Central/Western Mass.: Cloudy with scattered showers to steady light rain. Highs to the mid- and upper 50s in the Berkshires, low 60s east.
Southeastern Mass.: Cloudy with scattered showers and a bit of a breeze. Highs to the low 60s.
Cape Cod and Islands: Cloudy with scattered showers and some breaks mixed in. A little breezy. Highs to the upper 50s and low 60s.
Rhode Island: Scattered showers and periods of light rain. Highs to the low 60s.
New Hampshire: Cloudy with scattered showers and periods of light to steady rain. Highs to the upper 50s and just about 60.
Vermont/Maine: Scattered showers and periods of steady rain. Highs to the low 60s in Vermont, upper 50s in Maine.
Connecticut: Periods of showers to steady rain. Highs to the upper 50s and low 60s.
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Ken Mahan can be reached at ken.mahan@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @kenmahantheweatherman.