Forecast: Partly Sunny, Pleasant Today; Rainy Saturday And Clearing Skies Sunday

A front passed the region on Thursday and cleared things out, at least temporarily, for the start of the weekend.

Today is a rather nice day with some sunshine, clouds and pleasantly warm readings. There is some humidity in the air, but it's not oppressive. Highs reach around 80 with warmer temperatures inland and cooler air on Cape Cod.

Saturday features a highly anomalous area of low pressure that will move from the mid-Atlantic off the coast and south of New England. Because it's summer, the air has a lot more moisture potential than it would in the winter. This means where it does rain, it will pour and there could be some flooding of streets and small streams.

The likely scenario is that Boston misses most, if not all of the rain. However, it will rain fairly hard for at least a few hours on the south side of Cape Cod and down across the Islands. This all happens Saturday morning and into the early afternoon.

Of course, there will be some tweaking of the forecast. If changes do occur, the Cape will likely see less, not more, rain. Either way, clouds will spoil any hopes Saturday could be a beach day, but don't cancel outdoor plans unless you live near the Cape.

For Sunday, the storm will move away, and skies will clear. This is the best day of the weekend. It's also set to be the warmest, since Saturday features a chilly wind off the water.

You can follow my updates here and on Twitter @growingwisdom.

Friday: Partly sunny. More clouds south over Cape Cod. Highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. A few showers, mainly south. Lows in the low to mid-60s.

Saturday: Cloudy with a chance of rain, especially south of Boston.  The rain could be heavy on Cape Cod and the Islands. Sunshine over far northern New England. Highs 68-77. Coolest south and along the immediate coast.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, highs 74-78. Cooler on the Cape and the Islands.

Monday:  At least partial sunshine. Highs 73-80.  Warmest inland.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny.  Highs 75-80.