The bulk of the area has seen warm and humid conditions today with only scattered storms. We still have a risk for thunderstorms through sunset, but even more rain is likely later Thursday and Friday. A flash flood watch has now been issued for the possibility of flooding from heavy rain both tomorrow and Friday. This watch is in effect for nearly all of southern New England. (areas in green)

I'll be updating the details of the July 4th forecast on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

What a beautiful morning. It’s warm and the sunshine is abundant. Over the next week to 10 days I think it will be important to take advantage of the morning as the chance for rain will increase in the afternoon.

I'll be updating the details of the July 4th forecast on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

Summer officially arrived just after 1 AM Friday along the east coast and this means that the sun has now reached its highest point in the sky for the year. The kids may still be in school, but the days lose a few seconds of daylight from now until just before Christmas.

I'll be updating the details of the forecast on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

Our storm is now pulling away to the north and east of the area and the rain is all but done. One of the reasons I didn’t want you to cancel outdoor plans from mid-morning onward is that we have a reasonably nice day for Saturday and even a better one for tomorrow. There are still flood watches and warnings up for some small streams and rivers, but I expect those to come down during the morning and early afternoon. The term "flood" is used even if the water goes 1/2 inch above flood stage and doesn't mean there will be any real problems.I'll be updating the forecast throughout the weekend on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

Are you a morning or night person? Any regular reader of my blog knows what the answer is for yours truly. I have been a morning person most of my life. Except for that weird period post puberty when I use to stay up until 2 or 3 AM, I have always enjoyed the morning. This time of the year is my absolute favorite because of the morning light. It occurred to me on my walk at 5AM, if someone was a night person, and went to be at midnight or later they would only have 4 hours of total darkness before the light started coming in again. When I go to bed around 9, it’s still slightly light on the western horizon.

I'll be updating the forecast for this weekend and the rain situation Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

June can be hot or June can be cold and June can be almost anything in the middle. The month reminds me of December in a similar way. June is the start of summer and it can be more like summer the entire month. December is the start of winter and can be more like winter the entire month. A cold and snowy December makes for a long winter. A hot and sunny June makes for a long summer. Many of you would rather have December more like fall and June more like summer. After a hot start to this year’s June, some changes are on the way.I'll be updating the forecast throughout the week on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

The first weekend in May is going to be a pretty nice one with sunshine and seasonable temperatures. Coastal areas are going to be cooler than those of you who live inland. In Boston, highs today will remain in the upper 50s while it will reach the middle 60s west of Route 128. As you know the ocean is still quite chilly and with the wind coming off the water this cools the air along the shore. Tomorrow a few clouds may start the day but it will turn out mainly sunny again. The sea breeze won’t be a strong tomorrow and most areas will enjoy temperatures well into the 60s to near 70F.

I'll be updating the forecast for next week on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

The weather forecast for the next 5 to 7 days looks so wonderful it makes me nervous. You might think what would make you nervous about sunshine and dry weather? There are two things. First, this time of year a full week of no rain isn't good for agriculture. We are going to finish April with a rain deficit and this will be the second month, since the start of the year, without adequate moisture. While the landscape is greening, it won’t take long for drought to rear its ugly head. I probably get overly concerned about the rain, but as a gardener that’s where my head goes.

I'll be updating the weekend forecast on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

I think I heard a collective groan this morning when folks realized the day was going to feel more like early March than a week before May. The good news is the cold chilly weather isn’t going to last that long and by tomorrow afternoon most of you will get to enjoy sunshine and temperatures 20 degrees warmer than today. We have all seen springs where these raw days last for a week or more so having one of these kind of days isn’t so bad.

I'll be the forecast into the weekend on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.