I was planning on writing a quick recap on the wacky month of June, but the first day of July has me putting that off until tomorrow. I thought March was the month that is supposed to come in like a lion!

The first thunderstorm showed up in SW RI around dawn. It rolled through Bristol before 8 AM, and that was only the appetizer to a much bigger course a few hours later. The second storm developed along the coast, and moved very slowly to the ENE. This storm, unlike many that we see in Southeastern New England, developed, intensified, and expanded until it was the size of the southern half of RI.

It became apparent before noon that the storm hitting southern RI was going to be a headache. The first storm had dumped 1.3" of rain in Westerly, and the second one was capable of dumping more - a lot more. In four very soggy hours the rain bucket filled to over 5" of rain in Westerly. Flash flooding was occurring in many places as the water rose suddenly without warning on streets throughout SE CT and SW RI.

Digital Stormtracker XT rainfall estimate for Southern RI and SE CT.

The storm slowly trudged to the north and east. This was the scene looking west from Bristol Harbor at 12:45 pm. I had just gotten a (much needed) haircut nearby, and even though I was in a hurry to get into the weather center, I took the time to snap this picture. There was plenty of vivid lightning on the horizon, and the rumble of thunder could be heard. The scene was so impressive that there were at least four other people standing near me taking cell phone pics. The line of storms was stretching from the south coast of RI along the West Bay to north of Providence at this time.

The storms were not quite as heavy in Providence through Eastern MA, but they were still notable. Hail was reported in many spots along the coast of RI and MA. Widespread flooding was not seen in Providence, but some large puddles made driving difficult throughout the area. 

Digital Stormtracker XT rainfall estimate for July 1, 2009

Unfortunately, we are concerned about more heavy showers and thunderstorms tomorrow as the air overhead will remain very unstable. The basic weather setup is a cool pool of air in the higher levels of the atmosphere over the Northeast. A little bit of warming of the very moist air near the surface provides the spark for the heavy thunderstorms that have erupted for the last few days in the Northeast.

The weather will change in time for the Fourth of July. The weather should be decent for the parade, but a cold front swinging through late in the day could kick off a few showers or t-storms. Highs will be 75-80°, and it will not be too muggy.

 -Fred