Memorial Day weekend forecast

Today and Friday
As if you hadn't noticed, we have had a lot of clouds around the past few days. The next two days will feature more sunshine and a small chance of showers and thunderstorms. Humidity levels will be noticeable, but not oppressive. Temperatures in the afternoon will be mostly in the 70s.

Lawns and garden
Just a quick bit about the weather and lawns. I have, as some of you probably do too, red thread in my lawn. If you see the grass with some pink fuzzy stuff on it and it appears to be dying, it's red thread. It doesn't look great, but once we dry out a bit, the lawn will recover. You can give your lawn a bit of food to help it grow and that can help with the red thread. Treatment for the red threat involves using some rough chemicals, I would not recommend that. I also have a lot of slugs eating my hosta and lettuce. Spread some slug bait or put out a shallow dish of beer, they will die from either.

Holiday weekend.
Let me take each day and give you a rundown of the weather. Saturday, there may be some fog and clouds to start the day, and then the sun will be out. It's going to be the warmest day of the three day weekend and somewhat humid. If you like a summer-like day this is for you. Temperatures in the afternoon will be 85-90F inland and even in the lower 80s at the coast. The coolest temperatures will be at the Cape where it will stay in the lower 70s at the beaches. Later in the afternoon, a cold front, (blue line on map) will move into the area. This front marks the dividing line between cooler air and the heat that will be over us at that time. As the front comes through, some storms will develop and these could be quite strong. You will have to keep an eye to the western sky and the radar to know exactly when they will hit your area. The best chance for any thunderstorms will be to the south of Boston. Also during the day Saturday the humidity will slowly start to drop, this will help to negate the chance for storms.

Sunday
Sunday may very well be the best day of the weekend. On Sunday, the front mentioned earlier will be to our south. We will be in the cooler, dry air and there is, right now, no chance for rain. There will be a lot of sunshine and temperatures will be in the 70s and lower 80s, warmest 15 miles or more away from the coast. The only issue may be a northeast wind that makes it a bit chilly at the beaches.

Memorial Day
Of all the days of the weekend I am least confident about Monday right now. Here is the issue. That nice dry air that will be over us Sunday will be fighting against the warm and humid air from Saturday. The latter air mass will be trying to move north. Whenever you get that battle of air masses, clouds and even showers are the result. If the front stays to our south, say over the Mid Atlantic region, we are going to be mild, sunny and dry all day. If the front however, moves north during the day, we become cloudy and showers develop. I would say right now, 5 days out, the morning looks great, and the afternoon may be a problem. Temperatures will be a few degrees cooler than Sunday as well.

Summary
Overall the weekend is looking good. There may be an isolated thunderstorm Saturday afternoon, but the chances look pretty slim. Monday afternoon there is a better chance for more clouds and a few showers, but some sunshine as well. Sunday is my pick of the weekend because I dislike heat and humidity. Saturday will be the warmest and most humid day. Monday is the day the forecast could drastically change, even several times, before we get there.

Gardening this week-Container gardening
Many of you would love to get your containers planted for Memorial Day this weekend. Have you ever thought about planting native plants in your container and mixing it up a bit? Check out this video and learn more about using native plants in containers.

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