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.