Today was pretty nasty for mid May, but certainly not terrible when you compare it to some of the harsh conditions we get in the winter, and all the horrific weather that has hit worldwide in the last week. The Plains and Southeast have been hit with devastating tornadoes, and the cyclone that hit Myanmar has caused a natural disaster of the same scope as the Indian Ocean tsunami in December, 2004.

The storm blowing up over the Atlantic Ocean today, is the same batch of energy that brought the twisters to the Midwest and Southeast. Fortunately for us, the storm is far enough south that its major impact are strong winds and high surf. The peak gusts this afternoon were around 40 mph inland and 45 mph near the coast. The storm is still intensifying this evening, and another round of strong wind is likely tomorrow morning - with gusts to 35 mph inland and 45 mph near the coast.

The weather should rapidly improve tomorrow afternoon, with a diminishing wind, and highs in the low 60s under mostly sunny skies. The best day of the week will likely be Wednesday. Look for a ton of sun, and highs near 70° inland, and 60s near the coast.

-Fred

The storm that is developing over the Atlantic Ocean will bring gusty wind, but not a lot of rain, our way tomorrow into Tuesday. It looks like many of us could stay dry the entire time, but a strong easterly wind, combined with cool temperatures, will make it uncomfortable to be outside.

Temperatures will struggle to get into the low 50s tomorrow, due to a lot of clouds and the strengthening wind. We'll start the day with a 15-25 mph breeze, and as the storm intensifies, we should see the wind gust over 30 mph almost everywhere. The strongest winds will be near the coast - where we could see gusts over 40 mph for a few hours late tomorrow. It doesn't appear that the wind will be strong enough to cause widespread damage.

The wind will be even stronger in the waters off our south coast. A Gale Warning is in effect for winds of 25-35 kt, with gusts to 45 kt. Eastern facing shores may see some minor splash-over at the time of high tide tomorrow night and early Tuesday. Widespread coastal flooding doesn't look like a major concern.

The storm will drift away from us on Tuesday afternoon, and much better weather is likely by Wednesday.

-Fred

It is looking more and more like we'll see a very soggy start to this weekend. A storm spinning through the Midwest will arrive on Friday and bring a soaking rain Friday afternoon and night. Some of the Stormtracker computer models are indicating the potential for more than two inches of rain in Southern New England.

One interesting element of this storm will be a sharp cutoff between little or no rain and rather heavy showers. At this point, it looks like the heaviest rain will be over the ocean, but we will still see some heavy stuff over Rhode Island and SE Massachusetts.

As far as the timing is concerned, the rain should begin Friday morning and not really let up until Saturday morning - at the earliest. There are some signs that the wet weather could linger into Saturday afternoon.

Here's a look at some of the rainfall projections through Friday night.

Keep it tuned to ABC6 over the next couple of days for the latest on the potential for heavy rain.

-Fred

Weather-wise we are like Big Papi was at the start of the season - stuck in a horrible slump. Unfortunately, we can't take a couple of days off to get our swing corrected, so we'll just have to tough it out. This entire week has been cooler-than-normal, and the weather pattern over the weekend is....hideous.

This cool easterly breeze will continue for the next couple of days, keeping us locked in the clouds, drizzle, and mist. Temperatures will probably stay within a ten degree range (45-55°) through Sunday.

Saturday will feature cloudy skies, with some drizzle and mist, and the threat of a round of showers - and that's the nice weekend day! Sunday will be cloudy, with rain developing, and possibly becoming heavy for a while during the afternoon and evening. I can't rule out an isolated t-storm Sunday afternoon or night as a cold front slowly moves through the area.

Now for the good news...the weather should improve slightly by Monday afternoon (we may even see some sun), and Tuesday-Wednesday look nice with highs in the 60s.

-Fred