Very Smoky Skies This Afternoon & Tonight Will Clear Out For Friday Across Western & Central Mass

For This Afternoon & Tonight: The big story for this afternoon and tonight will be another round of very smoky skies that are expected across the entire area. These smoky skies are being caused by ongoing wildfires burning in far western Ontario and northern Minnesota. The smoke from these wildfires are being transported into our area on west and northwesterly upper-level winds.

It is expected that smoky, hazy skies will move back into all of Western and Central Mass by early this afternoon & remain in place through tonight. The worst of the smoky skies are expected between about 3 pm this afternoon and midnight tonight. It’s actually possible that the smoky skies and the smell of smoke in the air could be worse than yesterday & may actually reduce visibilities at times.

Those of you that have respiratory illnesses such as asthma or emphysema are urged to stay indoors this afternoon and tonight. If you do have to go outdoors, please severely limit that time you spend outdoors. It should be noted that even those of you that do not have respiratory problems may be negatively affected by the smoke this afternoon and tonight. This means that pretty much anyone should significantly limit your time outdoors this afternoon and tonight.

Temperatures this afternoon will start out in the low to mid 80s early this afternoon and will probably fall into the 70s due to the very smoky skies. Dew point temperatures this afternoon will fall through the 50s. Winds will be West at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30-35 mph.

Low temperatures tonight will be between 55 and 60 Degrees. Winds will be Northwest at around 10 mph.

Friday: A much nicer day is expected on Friday as all of that smoke will be pushed to our south.

This means that skies will be sunny to partly sunny with high temperatures around 80 Degrees. Dew point temperatures will be in the mid 40s. Winds will be West to Northwest at 10 to 15 mph.

This Weekend: While the weekend doesn’t look like a washout, there is the expectation to be on and off showers and thunderstorms from Saturday afternoon through Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

Saturday is expected to start out partly sunny in the morning. That being said, there is the possibility that a new round of smoky skies could impact the area. Cloudy skies are then expected for Saturday afternoon and there is likely to be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around. It’s possible that some of the thunderstorms might be on the strong side.

In addition to this, we may be looking at a side of smoke to go along with the afternoon shower and thunderstorm activity.

High temperatures will be between 75 and 80 Degrees. Dew point temperatures will be in the upper 50s to low 60s. Winds will be Southwest at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Widespread showers and scattered thunderstorms are expected throughout Saturday night as a frontal system pushes through the region. Some of the thunderstorms may be on the strong side. Low temperatures will be near 60 Degrees.

Turning to Sunday, it appears that any leftover scattered showers will end during the early morning hours. This will be followed by skies to become partly sunny by afternoon. High temperatures will be near 80 Degrees.

Monday Through Wednesday: Monday looks sunny with high temperatures near 80 Degrees.

Tuesday is expected to be cloudy with showers and scattered thunderstorms, especially during the afternoon. High temperatures will be near 80 Degrees.

Wednesday looks sunny with high temperatures between 75 and 80 Degrees.

There is one caveat to the forecast for Monday and Wednesday. It’s possible that the west and northwest upper level winds both days could produce more smoky skies across out area as more smoke is pushed into our area from the wildfires over western Ontario and northern Minnesota. Something to keep an eye on, just in case.

Another Round Of Very Smoky Skies Are Expected This Afternoon & Tonight Across Western & Central Mass (Posted at 9:30 am Thursday Morning 7/16/2026)

Even though the air quality is vastly improved as compared to yesterday (there's actually blue sky & sunshine), a new round of thick wildfire smoke is expected to move into the area by early this afternoon.

The worst conditions in terms of very smoky skies, little sunshine and the smell of smoke in the air is expected between about 3 pm this afternoon and midnight tonight. Those of you with respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and emphysema should probably stay indoors this afternoon and tonight. If you do need to outdoors, please severely limit that time in the smoky conditions.

The air quality on Friday is expected to be much, much better with very little, if any smoke around.

I will be writing a new forecast for the next several days over the next couple of hours & should have it posted towards midday today.

Hazy, Smoky Skies Are Expected To Continue Through Wednesday Across Western & Central Mass (Posted Early Tuesday Afternoon 7/14/2026)

For The Rest Of This Afternoon: Hazy, smoky skies are expected to persist across the region throughout the rest of this afternoon. These smoky skies, which are being caused by wildfires burning in northern Minnesota and central Canada, could temper the temperatures a bit this afternoon. Still though, temperatures the rest of this afternoon will likely be in the 85 to 90 Degree range. Dew point temperatures will be in the upper 60s to low 70s. Winds throughout the rest of this afternoon will be West to Southwest at 15 to 20 mph.

Tonight: A very humid night is expected across the region under hazy smoky skies. Low temperatures will be around 70 Degrees. Winds will be West at 10 to 20 mph.

One thing that I am going to be watching closely is the very real potential for a large cluster of severe thunderstorms that’ll be capable of producing very strong wind gusts, hail and even a couple of tornadoes to push south and southeastward across a large part of Maine, northern and central New Hampshire and northern and central Vermont during the overnight hours of tonight. There is a very low chance that some of these thunderstorms could reach the far northern Worcester Hills during the predawn hours of Wednesday morning. More than likely though, these storms will have weakened considerably or will have dissipated by the time they reach the Mass-New Hampshire border.

FOR ANYONE CAMPING, VACATIONING OR STAYING IN MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE OR VERMONT RIGHT NOW - PLEASE BE AWARE that there is a very high risk for some significant severe weather during the overnight hours of tonight.

Current indications are for these severe storms to first impact northern and especially western parts of Maine and extreme northern parts of New Hampshire around sunset today. These severe thunderstorms then are anticipated to push into a region that extends from the northern Green Mountains of Vermont through the White Mountains of New Hampshire and into central and downeast Maine by about midnight tonight. By the predawn hours of Wednesday morning, these severe thunderstorms may reach the area from the southern Green Mountains of Vermont through the Lake Regions of New Hampshire to southwest Maine. These severe storms have the potential to pack a huge punch as they may produce wind gusts of up to 70 mph, baseball size hail, extremely frequent lightning and even a threat for tornadoes. The environmental conditions across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are extremely favorable for severe weather & this is something that is concerning for me as I know that there are a whole lot of folks camping and vacationing in the mountains and lakes of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. If you are up there right now or know someone that is, please take this severe weather potential extremely seriously.

Wednesday: Another day with hazy, smoky skies are expected across the region. It will be hot, but it will gradually trend less humid as the day progresses. High temperatures will be around 90 Degrees. Dew point temperatures will be will fall through the 60s during the day. Winds will be West to Northwest at 10 to 20 mph.

One thing that is possible on Wednesday morning is the possibility for a few showers and an isolated thunderstorm or two to push southward across the region during the morning hours into the early afternoon hours.

Thursday & Friday: A mixture of sunshine and clouds are expected during the day on Thursday. High temperatures will be around 85 Degrees. Dew point temperatures will be in the low to mid 50s. Winds will be West at 10 to 20 mph.

Friday looks partly sunny with high temperatures will be near 80 Degrees. Dew point temperatures will be in the low 50s.

This Weekend: It appears that an upper level trough and surface frontal boundary will drop into the northeastern US during this weekend. This could lead to showery conditions to occur at times during the weekend across Western and Central Mass.

Saturday looks to be cloudy & there will be some scattered afternoon showers. High temperatures will be around 75 Degrees.

Sunday is expected to be cloudy & there looks to be the possibility of on and off scattered showers throughout the day. High temperatures will be around 75 Degrees.