Weather

Dave Epstein: More heat is expected in New England this week

With more of an offshore flow of air the next several days, temperatures will be significantly above average. Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe

By Dave Epstein, The Boston Globe

May 10, 2023

We’ve had a beautiful stretch of weather in New England this week. The good news is it will continue right into Mother’s Day.

Although, there has been some smoke in the air from wildfires happening in Alberta, Canada. Which is why you might notice the sky has seemed hazy the past couple of days.

Clear skies, with some elements of smoke can be seen on the Wednesday satellite. — *COD Weather*

Boston weather: Here’s what to expect from Thursday’s forecast

The relatively blue sky is a byproduct of high pressure firmly entrenched across the Northeast. When we have higher pressure than normal, the air sinks from above rather than rising. This sinking motion produces an absence of clouds, and a lack of precipitation. This pattern has been locked in place most of the spring, with the exception of the cloudy damp period at the end of April and beginning of May.

With more of an offshore flow of air the next several days, temperatures will be significantly above average. Most places away from Cape Cod will reach near or a little above 80 degrees on Thursday and Friday. These averages are about a month ahead of schedule.

Very warm air for the time of year boosts temperatures to near 80 Thursday. — *WeatherBELL*

The warm air has been accompanied by low dew points and lots of evaporation. On a daily basis, a certain amount of water will evaporate. If the gap between the temperature and dew point is big, more water will evaporate. In the middle of the summer, on a very humid day, less water will be pulled out of the ground. We will continue to have warm temperatures and low dew points in the next few days.

With the leaves on most trees and plants growing fast, plants need a lot of water this time of year.

The only chances of rain the next few days comes Thursday and Friday afternoon in the form of scattered showers and thunderstorms. Most of us will miss these. Just look at the radar loop below, which shows small areas representing showers for Thursday and Friday.

Small areas of showers can been seen moving down from the Northwest on this prediction for Thursday into Friday. — *COD Weather*

The weekend looks very good. Saturday is likely to be warm, with highs approaching 80. Sunday, for Mother’s Day, it will be cooler, but still above average for the time of year.

For now I don’t see a big change in the pattern, so the lack of rain and above average temperatures are both likely to continue.