A Few Showers & Thunderstorms Are Possible This Afternoon Across Western & Central Mass

Radar imagery at the time of this post showed a line of heavy showers & isolated thunderstorms tracking eastward along the Route 2 corridor.

These showers and isolated thunderstorms are currently moving through Athol and Winchendon and will reach Fitchburg and Leominster by about 12:15-12:30 pm. These showers and isolated thunderstorms will only affect far northern parts of Worcester County & will move to the east into northeast Mass & southeast New Hampshire towards 1 pm.

The rest of Western and Central Mass are dry, but warm and humid. I do think that we may see a few showers and thunderstorms across the region this afternoon & especially during the mid and late afternoon hours. Any thunderstorms that do form will be capable of producing heavy downpours and lightning. That said, it seems that more areas than not will be dry this afternoon. I will be keeping an eye on the thunderstorm activity & will have updates as needed.

Some MUCH less humid air is expected to move into Western & Central Mass for both THURSDAY & FRIDAY. Lots of sunshine are expected both days with high temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s. Dew point temperatures Thursday will be between 45 and 50 Degrees. Dew point temperatures Friday will be in the low 50s.

THIS WEEKEND still looks very nice with lots of sunshine expected for both Saturday & Sunday. High temperatures both Saturday & Sunday will be around 80 Degrees. Dew point temperatures Saturday will be in the low 50s. Dew point temperatures Sunday will be in the mid to upper 50s.

4:30 pm Tuesday Afternoon Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

Heavy downpours & a few thunderstorms are making their way northeastward across Worcester County at the time of this post. The heaviest rainfall is occurring in the western Worcester Hills as well as along the Mass Pike from Sturbridge to Auburn & along I-395.

This really heavy rain will be pushing into the Worcester Metro over the next 15-30 minutes & will also affect much of the I-190 and I-290 corridors starting within the next 30 minutes or so.

This very heavy rain is, obviously, occurring during the afternoon commute & those of you traveling right now across Central Mass need to expect very slow going due to blinding rain, localized flooding on roads & highways & the risk of hydroplaning.

This heavy rain is expected to start moving out of Central Mass by 5:30-6 pm. That may not be it though as I'm also watching widespread showers and thunderstorms, some of them strong, now pushing into far Western and Southwestern Mass. This new round of showers and thunderstorms will gradually cross Western Mass over the next 1-2 hours & then potentially reach Central Mass by between 6 and 7 pm.

On & Off Showers & Thunderstorms Are Expected The Rest Of This Afternoon & This Evening Across Western & Central Mass (Posted at 12:45 pm Tuesday Afternoon 7/21/2026)

Showers with heavy downpours are making their way across parts Western Mass and across much of Central Mass at the time of this post. It is expected that this particular area of heavy showers will continue across the region for the next couple of hours before they come to an end from southwest to northeast by mid-afternoon.

Additional showers and thunderstorms are then expected to affect the entire area by later this afternoon. This second round of showers and thunderstorms are then expected to last through this evening. Some of the thunderstorms may be capable of producing heavy downpours and lightning. While a strong or severe thunderstorm is possible with this second round of storms, it appears that the risk is very low. That said, this is something that'll be watched, just in case.

A break in the shower activity is then expected from after midnight tonight through Wednesday morning. It then appears that some scattered showers and thunderstorms are a possibility from about mid-afternoon Wednesday through Wednesday evening. A couple of the thunderstorms could be on the strong to severe side & be capable of producing gusty winds, small hail, torrential downpours and frequent lightning. This will be something to keep an eye on once we get into the day on Wednesday.