Plenty In The Way Of Showers Are Expected This Weekend Across Western & Central Mass

For Tonight: A warm front is expected to push through the region late tonight.

Clear to partly cloudy skies are expected this evening with cloudy skies expected during the after midnight hours of tonight. In addition, some isolated rain and snow showers are expected during the after midnight hours.

Low temperatures will be between 25 and 30 Degrees. Winds will be West at 8 to 16 mph.

Friday: Another day with high fire danger levels are expected throughout Friday.

Skies throughout the day on Friday will be mostly cloudy with high temperatures around 55 Degrees. Winds will be West to Southwest at 10 to 20 mph.

Friday Night: A nearly stationary frontal boundary is likely to begin setting up somewhere across far southern parts of southern New England. The exact position of this stationary front is going to be extremely important in determining what not only Friday night’s weather is going to be like, but also what the weekend weather is going to be like.

Cloudy skies are expected on Friday night. Showers are expected to increase in coverage during the evening hours with widespread showers likely during the after midnight hours.

Low temperatures will be in the upper 30s to low 40s. Winds will be South to Southwest at 5 to 10 mph for most of the night, but will become North to Northeast towards morning.

Saturday: Saturday’s temperature forecast continues to be extremely tricky and will depend on exactly where that stationary front sets up. Areas to south of the front will likely see high temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s while areas north of the front will only see temperatures that remain in the upper 30s to low 40s. Even a 10 to 20 mile error in figuring out where the front might set up would lead to a huge error in the forecast for some areas.

My experience in forecasting the weather here in Southern New England tells me that the weather forecast guidance tends to push fronts too quickly to the north, especially with the depth of the cold air located across northern New England. This is a very common weather forecast guidance error that we see in the Spring.

This means that I think that most, if not all of Western and Central Mass will probably stay on the colder side of the frontal boundary. The exception to this might be across the lower parts of the Pioneer Valley, including the Springfield Metro.

My forecast for Saturday for much of Western and Central Mass calls for cloudy skies throughout the day along with a few showers from time to time. In addition, I expect areas of drizzle and fog at times. Temperatures will be steady in the upper 30s to low 40s. The exception to this is across the lower Pioneer Valley, including the Springfield Metro where mostly cloudy skies are expected with high temperatures ranging from near 55 Degrees in the Springfield Metro to near 65 Degrees across areas along I-91 south of Springfield to the Connecticut border.

Saturday Night: That frontal boundary will push back to the south putting the entire area on the chillier side of the front.

Cloudy skies are expected throughout Saturday night and there will be some scattered rain showers around. That said, we will need to keep an eye on how much cold air seeps southward into the area as any sub-freezing temperatures would cause any rain showers to turn to areas of light freezing rain. Areas that have the greatest chance of seeing periods of light freezing rain looks to be across the Worcester Hills and especially the northern Worcester Hills.

Low temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s. Winds will be Northeast at 6 to 12 mph.

Sunday: Cloudy skies with areas of drizzle and fog can be expected throughout Sunday. In addition, some on and off showers can be expected from time to time on Sunday, especially across northern Worcester County.

High temperatures will be near 45 Degrees.

Monday: An area of low pressure moving along that stationary frontal boundary will move across the region during Monday. As it does so, it will cause the front to lift north of our area putting us in the mild sector of the front.

This means that periods of rain can be expected throughout the day on Monday with high temperatures between 60 and 65 Degrees.

Tuesday & Wednesday: Better weather can be expected for Tuesday and Wednesday as high pressure builds in behind that low pressure system.

Tuesday looks partly sunny with high temperatures near 45 Degrees.

Wednesday is expected to be sunny to partly sunny with high temperatures near 45 Degrees.

Low Pressure Should Pass Far Enough Offshore To Not Be A Weather Problem For Western & Central Mass Late Tonight & Wednesday Morning

For Tonight & Wednesday: An area of low pressure is expected to pass well south and east of Nantucket late tonight and Wednesday morning. The track of this low pressure system will be far enough east to not be a problem in terms of steady rain or snow for our area.

Skies tonight will feature varying amounts of clouds with low temperatures near 30 Degrees. Winds will be West to Northwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday is expected to start out partly sunny, but skies will be cloudy from the late morning hours right through the afternoon hours. In addition, a few rain and even snow showers can be expected during the afternoon into the early evening hours as a weak trough of low pressure crosses the region. High temperatures will range from the upper 30s to low 40s across the Worcester Hills and the Berkshires to 45 to 50 Degrees elsewhere across the area. Winds will be West to Northwest at 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday Night: That weak trough of low pressure will exit to the east during the evening with an area of high pressure building into the region during the overnight hours.

This means that any leftover isolated rain or snow showers will come to an end during the early evening hours. This will be followed by clear skies throughout the overnight hours of Wednesday night. Low temperatures will be between 25 and 30 Degrees. Winds will be West to Northwest at 10 to 20 mph.

Thursday: An area of high pressure will control the weather throughout the day on Thursday.

Lots of sunshine can be expected throughout the day on Thursday with high temperatures between 47 and 52 Degrees. Winds will be West to Northwest at 10 to 20 mph.

It should be noted that the brush fire danger is likely to be on the high side due to a combination of low humidity levels, dry pre-leaf conditions and gusty winds.

Friday: High pressure will continue to control the weather throughout the day on Friday.

Partly sunny skies are expected on Friday with high temperatures between 50 and 55 Degrees. Winds will be West to Northwest at 10 to 20 mph.

The brush fire danger is likely to be on the high side once again throughout the day on Friday due to the combination of low humidity levels, gusty winds and dry pre-leaf conditions.

This Weekend: The weather for this weekend looks pretty active as a frontal boundary will be positioned across the region. This front will be the demarcation line between warm temperatures to the south of the front and some quite cold air located to the north of the front. Where this front sets up is going to be important in determining what sort of weather we see this weekend.

On one hand, if that front lifts well north of our area, it could lead to a very mild weekend (especially Saturday) with perhaps some scattered showers and thunderstorms from time to time. On the other hand, if that front is draped right across the region, we will be in for a pretty unsettled weekend with quite a bit in the way of on and off rain showers throughout the entire weekend. Another possibility is for the front to drop to our south and allow some of that cold air to invade the region. This would lead to precipitation in the form of both rain and snow to occur from time to time throughout the weekend.

At this point, I’m leaning towards a scenario where the front has a tough time lifting northward and remaining either over the area or just barely south of the area. This means that I do think that we are in for a pretty unsettled and miserable weekend in terms of weather.

Saturday looks cloudy and there will be on and off rain throughout the day. High temperatures will be near 50 Degrees.

While steady rain looks quite possible throughout the night on Saturday night, there is the possibility for a snow-rain mix to occur at times during the late night hours of Saturday night. Low temperatures will be near 35 Degrees.

Rain looks quite possible throughout the day on Sunday with high temperatures near 50 Degrees.

No Signs Of "True" Spring Weather For At Least The Next Couple Of Weeks Across Western & Central Mass

Unfortunately, there are no signs of any long lasting Spring weather for at least the next couple of weeks across the area. In fact, there are signals in the data that suggest we may have a couple of more chances for snow over the next 1 to 2 weeks or so.

For Tonight: Any leftover rain over far southeastern Worcester County will end over the next hour or so. Skies will then become partly cloudy by midnight with partly cloudy skies expected during the after midnight hours of tonight. Low temperatures will be near 30 Degrees. Winds will be West at 6 to 12 mph.

Tuesday: A mixture of some sunshine and lots of clouds can be expected throughout the day with high temperatures near 50 Degrees. Winds will be West at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Wednesday: The track of an area of low pressure moving to the southeast of New England will need to be watched closely, in case it tries to track closer to our area. At this point, it looks like the weather will be a little more unsettled compared to what it looked like yesterday.

Cloudy skies are expected during the day on Wednesday. In addition, there is likely to be some scattered rain showers during the afternoon and evening. High temperatures will be between 45 and 50 Degrees. Winds will be West at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Thursday: An area of high pressure will briefly build into the area. This means that skies on Thursday will be partly sunny with high temperatures near 45 Degrees.

Friday: Skies will start out partly sunny, but will become cloudy during the afternoon as a frontal system begins to approach the area from the west. High temperatures will be near 45 Degrees.

This Weekend: A slow moving frontal system will be the main weather driver for this weekend's weather. There is quite a bit of uncertainty as to how much cold air will be lurking to the north and whether any of this cold air will be pulled southward with the frontal system. Some of the weather forecast guidance do suggest that there could be some wintry type precipitation Saturday night & Sunday morning. Because of this, this weather system for the weekend will need to be watched.

For now, Saturday looks cloudy and there may be some scattered rain showers around from time to time. High temperatures will be near 45 Degrees.

Widespread rain showers are expected Saturday night that may become snow showers late at night. Low temperatures will be near 35 Degrees.

Snow and rain showers look possible Sunday morning that become just scattered rain showers during Sunday afternoon. High temperatures will be near 45 Degrees.

As For Next Week: I am watching the period around next Wednesday with quite a bit of interest. There's the possibility of a storm system affecting the region. The moisture with this storm system ***could*** interact with cold air around & lead to some of the precipitation being in the form of snow. At this point, it's just something to keep an eye on, just in case.