1 pm Thunderstorm Update For Western & Central Mass

Even though the sunshine has been filtered through a smoky, hazy sky, it has still led to temperatures to be in the low 80s and dew point temperatures in the low to mid 70s as of 1 pm. Because of this, the atmosphere is quite favorable for the production of thunderstorms, some of which will likely be strong to severe.

Radar imagery as of 1 pm this afternoon showed a line of thunderstorms that are strengthening across areas west of I-87 in eastern New York State. These thunderstorms are likely to continue strengthening in the coming hours & I do think that quite a few of them will probably be strong to severe.

As the image attached to this post shows, I expect that these thunderstorms, some of which will be strong to severe will affect Western Mass as soon as 2 pm this afternoon and continue through about 5 pm this afternoon. So, plan on the threat for strong to severe thunderstorms between 2 pm and 5 pm this afternoon.

Further east across Central Mass, it appears that these thunderstorms, some of which will be strong to severe will begin to be a threat as soon as 3-4 pm this afternoon & continue to be a threat until about 8 pm this evening. So, for those of you across Central Mass, plan on the severe weather threat to be between 3 pm and 8 pm.

Any severe thunderstorms that do occur will be capable of producing wind gusts of up to 50-70 mph, hail up to the size of dimes and quarters, torrential downpours, frequent lightning and the possibility of a tornado or two.

It goes without saying that I'm keeping very close tabs on the weather situation & will have more updates as needed.