Weekend Weather Forecast For Western & Central Mass

For The Rest Of This Afternoon: A westerly wind flow will be in place across the entire area throughout the rest of this afternoon.

A mixture of sunshine and clouds can be expected throughout the rest of this afternoon. Temperatures will be in the mid and upper 70s. Dew point temperatures are expected to fall into the low 50s. Winds will be west at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy skies are expected throughout tonight. Low temperatures will be around 55 Degrees. Winds will be West at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Saturday: That westerly wind flow will continue to be in place across the region throughout the day on Saturday.

This means that a mixture of sunshine and clouds can be expected throughout the day on Saturday. There’s the possibility for an isolated shower or two during Saturday evening, mainly across Central Mass.

High temperatures will be between 75 and 80 Degrees. Dew point temperatures will be in the lower 50s. Winds will be West at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30-35 mph.

Sunday: A mixture of sunshine and clouds can be expected throughout the day on Sunday. There’s the possibility for a couple of isolated showers during the afternoon. Most areas though should stay dry all day Sunday.

High temperatures will be between 75 and 80 Degrees. Dew point temperatures will be in the lower 50s. Winds will be West at 10 to 20 mph.

Monday: A rainy Monday is expected across all of Western and Central Mass as a low pressure system tracks right over our area.

Rain is expected all day on Monday with the rain continuing through all of Monday night. In addition, it is possible that the rain will be heavy at times, especially during Monday afternoon and Monday evening.

Rainfall totals on Monday and Monday night will average between 1 and 2 inches across all of Western and Central Mass.

High temperatures Monday will be between 65 and 70 Degrees.

Tuesday Through Next Friday: That low pressure system is expected to depart to the east on Tuesday. This means that any leftover rain will come to an end during the morning on Tuesday with cloudy skies expected during Tuesday afternoon. High temperatures Tuesday will be around 75 Degrees.

Wednesday looks partly sunny with high temperatures near 80 Degrees.

Thursday looks to start out partly sunny, however, skies will become cloudy during the afternoon. In addition, there is the possibility for a few scattered showers or thunderstorms during the afternoon. High temperatures will be between 75 and 80 Degrees.

Next Friday is expected to be cloudy. There will also be the possibility of some scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms. High temperatures will be near 80 Degrees.

3 pm Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

Radar imagery as of the time of this post indicated that some thunderstorms have developed over the middle and upper Pioneer Valley of Western Mass. In addition, a line of strong to severe thunderstorms are about to enter the northern Berkshires.

The thunderstorms over the middle and upper Pioneer Valley are moving towards the northeast and will likely affect areas of the upper Pioneer Valley and the Route 2 corridor from about Greenfield eastward to about Gardner over the next 30-45 minutes. Torrential downpours and some gusty winds are the main threat for now, but they will need to be watched in case they become severe.

The line of strong to severe thunderstorms now entering the northern Berkshires will reach the I-91 corridor from about the Vermont-Mass border to about Amherst by about 4 pm or so. Wind gusts of up to 50-60 mph, torrential downpours and frequent lightning will accompany these storms.

Elsewhere across Western and Central Mass, all is quiet for now, but I'm watching other storms trying to form and strengthen over the Berkshires and am also watching a line of thunderstorms pushing across eastern New York.

More updates will be posted as needed.

A Few Severe Thunderstorms Are Possible This Afternoon Across Western & Central Mass

I am going to be watching things very closely for the possibility of a couple to a few severe thunderstorms this afternoon, mainly between about 3 pm and 6 pm or so, across all of Western and Central Mass.

Satellite imagery as of late this morning revealed that we are socked in with clouds across the entire area. Radar imagery indicated that there are still a few showers around as of the time of this post.

It is expected that these showers should come to an end by about 1 pm. In addition, there may be some breaks in the clouds allowing for some sunshine to peek through for a while this afternoon. This will lead to temperatures to rise well up into the upper 70s to near 80 Degrees by early to mid-afternoon. Dew point temperatures will be in the mid 60s to near 70 Degrees leading things to feel very humid during this afternoon.

The warmth and humid conditions this afternoon will lead to the atmosphere to become somewhat unstable. In addition, there is expected to be very strong amounts of wind shear present in the atmosphere. This combination will lead to conditions that are favorable for at least a couple to a few severe thunderstorms this afternoon across all of Western and Central Mass.

A line of strong to severe thunderstorms has already formed across Western New York State. These storms are moving to the east at a forward speed of about 45 mph.

It is anticipated that the line of thunderstorms will reach Western Mass by about 3 pm or so this afternoon. This line of thunderstorms will then push across Central Mass by about 4 pm or so this afternoon.

I want to make it clear that I AM NOT expecting a widespread severe weather outbreak this afternoon. Instead, I do think that a couple to perhaps a few of the thunderstorms will be severe and capable of producing wind gusts of up to 65 mph, torrential downpours and frequent lightning. Given the very strong wind shear that's present, there is the possibility for a couple of tornadoes to be produced by any severe thunderstorms.

While all of Western and Central Mass are at risk this afternoon of a couple to a few severe thunderstorms, the area I think that has a higher chance for severe thunderstorms is from much of Western Mass into areas of Central Mass that are north of the Mass Pike.

All of the thunderstorm activity will be done across Western and Central Mass by about 6 pm or so.

It goes without saying that I will be keeping very close tabs on the severe weather potential & will have many more updates for you as needed.