Helene stays south of New England; next widespread rain chance comes midweek

High pressure has settled over New England and will remain in place through the weekend and into early next week. The center of this ridge is once again just to New England's east, which will allow for an onshore flow, bringing cooler temperatures and increased clouds to the coastal plain. On top of that, the northern fringes of Helene's clouds will push into southern and central New England. So, despite the high pressure, plenty of clouds will be around through the weekend.

A frontal system associated with Helene's remnants will remain just to the south of New England on Saturday. A vast majority of shower activity with this system will remain south of New England, but a couple wayward showers could wander far enough north to bring a quick shower to southern New England. Sunday is a near repeat of Saturday with plenty of clouds around and dry weather outside of a couple showers, mainly in the morning.

Photo byNew England Storm Center

After a generally mild Friday (widespread highs in the 70s, with some heading toward 80°) eastern New England will cool off for the weekend as the high pressure brings back a cooler onshore flow. Areas farther west, well away from the coastal influence will remain in the 70s while the coastal plain drops back into the mid to upper 60s. Temperatures will be cloud dependent to an extent. If plenty of sun can break through, especially on Sunday, more widespread 70s will be possible rather than 60s.

This ridge of high pressure over New England will remain in control heading into early next week. This will keep dry weather in the picture for New England through at least Monday. Despite this, there should be plenty of clouds around (after Saturday) for the coastal plain due to the moist onshore flow off the ocean. Western and northern New England will see the most sunshine during this time. It will not be persistently overcast despite the clouds.

New England's next precipitation chance will come around the middle of next week when two features may approach New England. The first will be another frontal system approaching from the west. The other will be a trough associated with Helene's remains, which may be picked up by the frontal system. Helene's remnants will remain south of New England, but could interact in some way with the frontal system. This is to say that a period of wet weather will come to New England at some point around the middle of next week.

Current weather map for Wednesday (October 2), showing the features described above:

Photo byWeather Prediction Center

This midweek system is currently the only widespread rain chance for New England over the course of the next week as an expansive ridge of high pressure looks to follow the frontal system's exit. The frontal system does look to be progressive in nature, leading to a shorter window of unsettled weather, but this remains an early trend. Overall, high pressure will be in charge much more often than low pressure.

Current weather map for Friday (October 4):

Photo byWeather Prediction Center

Looking at the tropics, the Atlantic Basin remains rather active with two named systems and two areas of interest being watched. Nothing poses a threat to land at this time. Hurricane Isaac continues to drift toward the Arctic, where it will naturally weaken and fall apart. This storm has become a category two hurricane and spawned from the coastal storm that brought Cape Cod 6-12 inches of rain last weekend.

Photo byNational Hurricane Center

Tropical Storm Joyce continues to slowly churn across the open Atlantic. This storm will not affect land anytime soon and is expected to weaken as it continues to move through a highly sheared and dry environment.

Photo byNational Hurricane Center

Two other areas of interest are being watched. A disturbance could form in the Caribbean and eventually drift into the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days. This could form into a tropical depression by the middle of next week. The National Hurricane Center gives this disturbance a 40% chance of development.

An area of low pressure in the eastern Atlantic could form into a Cape Verde type system as it follows Joyce's footsteps. The storm will drift west-northwestward and currently gradually develop into a tropical storm. The National Hurricane Center gives this storm a 50% chance of developing. Neither of these storms will pose an immediate threat, but the disturbance in the Caribbean will need to be watched eventually.

Photo byNational Hurricane Center