Some Strong To Severe Thunderstorms Are Possible Friday Afternoon Across Western & Central Mass

For This Afternoon: Cloudy skies are expected for this afternoon, however, it should stay dry. Temperatures this afternoon will be between 70 and 75 Degrees. Winds this afternoon will be south at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Tonight: A complex of thunderstorms, which is likely to bring severe weather to western New York State and western Pennsylvania this afternoon and this evening is likely to weaken by the time it reaches our area tonight. All indications are that widespread showers and a few thunderstorms will push across the area between about 9 pm and 1 am tonight. The shower and thunderstorm activity will move away from the area late tonight and will be replaced by a much more humid air mass. Low temperatures tonight will be between 60 and 65 Degrees. Winds tonight will be south at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Friday: Some strong to severe thunderstorms are a possibility during Friday afternoon. Friday morning is expected to be partly sunny with humid conditions and by midday temperatures are likely to be around 85 Degrees. The big question for Friday afternoon’s forecast is how widespread the strong to severe thunderstorm activity will be. I do think that the very warm and humid atmosphere Friday afternoon will help to cause an unstable air mass. Additionally, forcing and lift from the approaching strong cold front should help to cause cumulus clouds to really build up in this unstable air mass. Given the latest data, I think that a line of thunderstorms will quickly push from northwest to southeast across Western Mass between about 11 am and 2 pm and then across Central Mass between about 12 pm and 2 pm. The fact that these storms will be moving through during the late morning and early afternoon hours may help to temper the severity of the thunderstorms. With that said, I do think that anywhere from a couple to a few of the thunderstorms will be strong to severe with wind gusts of up to 60 mph and hail up to size of pennies and quarters. The cold front that’ll bring the shower and thunderstorm activity will push to our east during the mid and late afternoon hours of Friday. This Weekend: An unusually cool weekend for mid-June is expected across Western and Central Mass with temperatures that feel like later September and early October. Those of you that may be planning to hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, be aware that it will be cold enough to snow on the higher summits throughout the weekend, such as Mount Adams, Mount Washington, Mount Jefferson and Mount Madison – so, dress for winter conditions if hiking above 5000 feet this weekend in northern New Hampshire. As for our area, Saturday looks to feature a mixture of sunshine and clouds and it’ll be cool and crisp. High temperatures Saturday will be near 65 Degrees. Winds on Saturday will be northwest at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Sunday looks to start out sunny, but skies likely will become cloudy during the afternoon. High temperatures Sunday will be between 65 and 70 Degrees. Monday & Tuesday: The upper level low pressure system that’s going to give us the cool and crisp weekend is expected to move away on Monday leading to temperatures warming back up. Monday is expected to be sunny with high temperatures near 75 Degrees. Tuesday looks partly sunny with high temperatures near 80 Degrees.