New England weather this week: Very warm start; cooler end

This week will feature a continuation of the weather seen at the end of last week followed by a crash back to our late-October reality later in the week. Shower chances will remain few and far between as very dry conditions continue.

Below: Current Weather Prediction Center 7-day rainfall forecast:

Photo byWeather Prediction Center

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY

The strong area of high pressure that's been parked over the northeast for the past several days now will continue to remain in place for early this week. Today will be the peak of the warmth being produced by this high thanks to a stronger westerly wind creating a downsloping (warming) effect off the western New England mountains. A few of the typical warmer spots of southern and central New England may reach 80°. Daily record highs will likely be approached, although many areas may fall just shy of these marks.

Photo byGFS/Tropical Tidbits

The ridge of high pressure will begin to shift eastward on Tuesday. This will allow temperatures to cool a bit for much of New England, but it will still be very warm for the time of year across New England. Western New England will be the warmest away from the "cooler" marine air across the east. Highs will be in the 70s to near 80° through the middle of the week for most with the Connecticut River and Champlain Valleys getting the warmest.

There will be a subtle, weak cold front that pushes into northern New England tonight into Tuesday morning. This front will hardly be noticed and may just produce some increased high clouds during its passage. Showers will not occur and a temperature drop at the surface will hardly be noticed outside of northern Maine. The pressure gradient between the high and approaching low will lead to a generally breezy week.

Below: Surface map for Tuesday:

Photo byWeather Prediction Center

THURSDAY & FRIDAY

Wednesday night into Thursday morning, another cold front will sweep across New England. This frontal passage is looking to be rapid with a brief window of showers overnight Wednesday into early Thursday morning. Showers will be most likely across the northern tier of New England with very limited (if any) activity across southern and central areas. High pressure will build back in for later Thursday and Friday.

Photo byNew England Storm Center

This front will have a much greater impact on temperatures than it will on the overall dry weather. The frontal passage will usher in much more seasonable air for the region. Both Thursday and Friday will be similar in temperatures with Friday a notch cooler than Thursday for many. Northernmost New England may be cooler on Thursday, but this is venturing into "splitting hairs" territory as both days will be similar. Overnight lows will venture back to being cold during this time.

Photo byNew England Storm Center

WEEKEND

A secondary frontal system may rotate through New England Friday night into Saturday morning, bringing another chance of very limited showers, again mostly across the northern tier of the region. Temperatures may briefly jump for Saturday ahead of this system, but fall again on Sunday behind it. Overall, it is looking to be a nice fall weekend. 

Below: Surface map for Saturday (October 26):

Photo byWeather Prediction Center