Forecast: Sunny, Warm Day Ahead

After a stellar weekend of a lot of sunshine and warm temperatures our luck continues for your Monday with a lot of sunshine and a continuation of warm and reasonably dry air. There is a bit of instability in the atmosphere this afternoon, so some of the growing cumulus clouds could yield a pop-up thunderstorm for 10 minutes, but most of us stay dry.

Another comfortable night for sleeping is ahead with temperatures falling through the 60s during the overnight. This will set up another fine start to Tuesday, but our stretch of good weather is coming to an end briefly. You will notice humidity levels rising in the afternoon Tuesday with clouds increasing late in the day. I do expect rain showers to move in from the south on Tuesday evening and continue into Wednesday.

There are a few interesting aspects to this round of rain. First, the weather system causing the rain will be rather vigorous for early August. Second, the amount of rain could be quite heavy on the order of 1 to 2 inches. Third, there is significant energy with the system so thunderstorms, perhaps severe, might be an issue. More on that tomorrow.

The good news is the rain will not last long and by Thursday I expect the sunshine to return. The air mass behind this system is quite cool and while it won't be chilly, it's not going to be hot. As a matter of fact some areas will likely not hit 80 for several days.

Monday: Mostly sunny and warm. Highs in the lower 80s (cooler in the afternoon along the coast). Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m.

Monday night: Partly cloudy with lows in the mid 60s (cooler inland).

Tuesday: Mostly sunny with clouds increasing late in the day. Highs near 80.

Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms with some downpours. Muggy with highs in the 70s.

Thursday: Partly to mostly sunny. Dry and comfortable with highs in the mid to upper 70s.

Friday: Mostly sunny with a high near 75 to 80.

Follow updates from David Epstein on Twitter @growingwisdom.