Coastal Storm Brings Risk of Gale Force Winds Off of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island

Compact Coastal Low May Impact NYC Forecast

07/27/24 10:34am

CONUS Satellite 07/27/24Photo byNWS

Good morning everyone. Yesterday's heavy tropical showers & storms that plagued coastal areas of North & South Carolina have moved well-offshore for the most part. High pressure has begun to take over the region and things are drying out a bit and giving some areas a much needed break from the rain.

The downside to everything sliding offshore, is that high pressure protecting us right now, will become a problem late tomorrow into Monday. As all of that sub-tropical energy meanders off of the Carolinas, it'll organize into a compact area of low pressure. The problem is, it has nowhere to go. Low pressure will try and exit the coast and head out to sea, but high pressure will prevent it from leaving and steer it back into New England.

As of now, the National Weather Service has issued a gale warning for maritime interests well offshore of the New Jersey, New York, and New England Coast. As low pressure gathers up strength, winds are expected to peak 40-45mph over the open ocean with 7-12ft+ seas. However as it comes ashore, we are expecting gusty, squally conditions along the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut coast. The Forks of Long Island could get in on the action too if it edges a little farther to the west. For this reason, we need to adjust our forecast for both tomorrow and Monday, and factor in cloud cover and wind direction as far as expectations with temperatures.

National Weather Service - Gale Warning - Offshore New England & Northeast Coast

Here is your local NYC Metro forecast -

We have ourselves a beautifully warm day today, with full sunshine, relatively dry conditions, and highs in the mid to upper 80's. For tomorrow, we originally expected to be near 90, but a southeasterly fetch of winds from developing low pressure will keep things down. Look for AM sun, PM increasing clouds, and highs in the mid 80's instead of near 90. Winds switching to the ESE will also help increasing the humidity.

For Monday, we also take away near 90 temps & sunshine, and replace that with a mix of sun & clouds with highs in the low 80's. The best chance to see some squally showers and storms will be further to the east out on Long Island, but we could see a few make it this way. For beachgoers, look for rough sea conditions and rip currents.

Low pressure is expected to bump back to the west into interior sections of New England, which will give us the chance of instability showers & storms each day Tuesday and Wednesday. We'll have highs in the muggy mid 80's each day, and the chance of some scattered PM popcorn showers & storms each day.