Rain For Thursday Morning; Blazing Heat With Oppressive Humidity Expected This Weekend

For This Afternoon: An area of high pressure will give us plenty of sunshine and gorgeous temperatures this afternoon. Temperatures this afternoon will be between 70 and 75 Degrees with very low humidity levels. Winds this afternoon will be northwest at 8 to 16 mph. Tonight: That high pressure system will move to the east tonight while an area of low pressure pushes towards out area from the west. This means that skies this evening will be clear to partly cloudy with skies becoming cloudy after midnight. It appears that rain with that low pressure system will overspread the area between about 4 am and 6 am Thursday morning. Low temperatures tonight will be near 50 Degrees. Winds tonight will be west at 5 to 10 mph this evening and south at 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Thursday: Some much needed rainfall will occur across the entire area during Thursday morning as that low pressure system moves across the region. At this point though, rainfall amounts of one quarter to perhaps one half of an inch can be expected. It’s not a soaking rainfall that we really need, but we’ll take it anyway. The rain will come to an end by midday with cloudy skies persisting throughout the afternoon. High temperatures Thursday will be between 60 and 65 Degrees. Winds on Thursday will be south to southeast at 7 to 15 mph. Friday Through This Weekend: Hot and humid weather is expected this weekend across the entire area. Friday looks partly sunny with high temperatures between 80 and 85 Degrees with some increase in humidity. A partly sunny, hot and humid day is expected on Saturday with record high temperatures a distinct possibility. High temperatures on Saturday will be between 90 and 95 Degrees. Here are the record high temperatures that may be tied or broken on Saturday: Worcester: 88 Degrees set in 1975. Springfield: 91 Degrees set in 1992. Bradley: 93 Degrees set in 1996. Sunday looks like it’ll be another hot and very humid day under partly sunny skies. A cold front is expected to push eastward during the day and may not reach our area until Sunday evening. The intensity of the thunderstorms that accompany the front is going to depend on when exactly they move through. If they push through during the late afternoon hours, we could see a round of severe thunderstorms. On the other hand, if the thunderstorms move through during the evening, then the thunderstorm intensity should be on the wane and we may see a strong storm or two. It’s something to certainly keep an eye on as we get closer to this weekend. High temperatures Sunday will be between 85 and 90 Degrees with oppressive humidity levels expected. It should be noted that heat index readings of 95 to 100 Degrees are possible Sunday due to the very humid conditions.