Some Much Cooler & Much Drier Weather Is Expected For Thursday & Friday Across Western & Central Mass

FOR THIS AFTERNOON: A pretty robust cold front is currently located from northern New England west-southwestward into north-central and western New York State. This cold front is expected to push through Western and Central Mass during the early afternoon hours. This front promises to usher in some much cooler temperatures & some much drier air for Thursday and Friday.

While this front might bring a very isolated shower or thunderstorm as it moves through between midday and 4 pm, I think a majority of the thunderstorm activity will occur well south of our area across southeastern New York, Long Island, the Connecticut shore and coastal parts of Rhode Island during this evening. In fact, a majority of our area will probably stay dry this afternoon.

Temperatures early this afternoon will be in the mid 80s to near 90 Degrees. These temperatures will fall into the upper 70s to lower 80s by later this afternoon. It will be humid during early this afternoon, but some much drier air will begin to infiltrate the region by late this afternoon leading to a much more comfortable feeling in the air.

Winds this afternoon will be West at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

TONIGHT looks cloudy & it'll be much more comfortable with low temperatures will be between 45 and 50 Degrees. Winds will be North to Northwest at around 10 mph.

THURSDAY looks to feature a mixture of sunshine and clouds. High temperatures will be near 65 Degrees. Winds will be North to Northwest at around 10 mph.

FRIDAY is expected to be sunny to partly sunny with high temperatures between 65 and 70 Degrees.

THIS WEEKEND'S weather is going to hinge on the position and movement of a frontal system that's located to our south. The closer this front is to our area the more unsettled our weather will be. At the minimum, much of this upcoming Memorial Day weekend will be cloudy, cool and damp. I do think that there will be periods of showers from time to time, but the timing of these showers are still kind of uncertain. FOR NOW, THIS IS WHAT I'M THINKING:

SATURDAY looks cloudy and I do think that most of the showers will stay south of our area. This means that, for now, I think Saturday should stay dry. High temperatures will be near 65 Degrees.

SUNDAY looks cloudy & it appears that there will be on and off showers throughout the day. High temperatures will be between 60 and 65 Degrees.

MEMORIAL DAY looks cloudy & it may end up being dry all day. High temperatures will be between 60 and 65 Degrees.

5:50 pm Tuesday Weather Update For Western & Central Mass & Especially For Central & Southern Worcester County

Strong thunderstorms continue to impact areas from Paxon and Spencer eastward through the Worcester Metro and into Shrewsbury and Westborough. These storms have had a history of producing very gusty winds that have brought down trees in Paxton & produced a 68 mph wind gust at Worcester Airport, small hail, frequent lightning and heavy downpours. It is expected that these thunderstorms will last for another 30 minutes or so.

I'm also now watching a developing squall line that now stretches from near Auburn southward through Oxford, Webster and Dudley. This squall line will affect far southern parts of Worcester County, including I-395 and Route 146 over the next 30-45 minutes. These storms will have the potential to produce 60 mph wind gusts, small hail, frequent lightning and torrential downpours.

Other thunderstorms are now affecting the Sturbridge, Southbridge and Charlton areas right now & will push eastward affecting areas south of the Mass Pike over the next 30-60 minutes.

5:30 pm Tuesday Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

Some strong thunderstorms currently stretch from near Clinton and Boylston west-southwestward through Holden and the north side of Worcester & then westward into Paxton, North Brookfield and just southeast of Ware. These thunderstorms are moving to the east at 30 mph & will affect areas around the Brookfields, Spencer, Worcester, Shrewsbury and Westborough over the next 30 to 45 minutes or so. These thunderstorms will be capable of producing pea size hail, wind gusts of up to 40-50 mph, heavy downpours and lightning.

Another strong thunderstorm is currently located around Hampden and Monson & is moving to the east at 30 mph. This thunderstorm is expected to affect Wales, Sturbridge, Southbridge and Charlton over the next 30 minutes and will then affect Dudley, Webster and Oxford between 6 and 6:30 pm. This thunderstorm will be capable of producing small hail, wind gusts of up to 40-50 mph, heavy downpours and lightning.