The stark contrast of weather between the rains of Harvey and the dry weather here in New England almost has a formidable quality to it.
As we stand ready to conclude August and usher in the long Labor Day weekend, the region will continue to be spared any dramatic weather, but there are some interesting, noteworthy elements in the forecast over the coming week.
These include our own brush with a tropical storm, a very chilly weekend morning, and the eventual moisture from the remnants of Harvey.
Tropical Storm Irma may form
A storm developing off the southeast coast on Tuesday morning is possibly going to become Tropical Storm Irma later Tuesday or Wednesday. The track of this system will keep it off the coast, but the rain shield should be extensive enough to penetrate as far north as Boston. The further south one is, the heavier the rain, while north of the Mass. Pike there could be nothing more than a few showers.
Winds and waves will be the main effect across southeastern Massachusetts from this storm. Mariners need to be aware that traveling offshore late Tuesday and Wednesday will be tricky. This isn’t a big storm, more like being briefly nicked by a nor’easter. The odds of tropical-storm-force winds are low, except for a few possible gusts over Nantucket.
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Little rain for Boston
We could really use a soaking rain in much of the area, but since the storm will be so far to the east, the rain won’t have much impact. There could be enough to create a few puddles around greater Boston, but the best chance for significant rainfall is from south of Providence to Plymouth line.
A fall air mass with some lows in the 30s!
Behind the departing storm on Thursday, most of the area should enjoy a warm and sunny day. Late in the afternoon a cold front could bring a gusty thunderstorm or two, but here again many may miss it altogether.
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Canadian air arrives Friday with very chilly air Saturday and Sunday mornings. If you are headed camping this weekend or are going to be outside early be aware of some possible 30s from Worcester County north into Vermont and New Hampshire.
The coastline, under the Atlantic’s influence, will remain milder. All of us recover into the lower to even middle 70s Saturday afternoon under brilliant blue skies. It may feel like fall has arrived in the morning, but the afternoons will warm quite nicely.
Harvey’s demise
For the southern United States it may seem like Harvey just won’t go away, but eventually on Thursday the system will fall apart as it moves north. The jet stream will then capture what’s left of this historic system, taking the remaining moisture, and there will be very little by the time it passes over New England. This brings the chance of showers on Sunday for a few hours. For planning purposes, this is the least favorable of the three weekend days.
The above animation from Tropical Tidbits shows a forecast of how the remains of tropical storm Harvey will pass New England with nothing more than a few showers Sunday.
Lovely Labor Day
The unofficial end of the summer season will dawn comfortably cool and end up warm enough to be a good early September beach day. As highs approach 80 under the bright September sunshine, I hope you’ll smile fondly with good memories of the summer of 2017 as we all begin to turn our attention to autumn.
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