Forecast: Small Risk Of Late Shower; Weekend Looks Sunny, Hot

Although there was plenty of available moisture Wednesday, the shower and thunderstorm activity was quite limited. There were some very heavy pockets of rain, which did create some street flooding across several south shore towns, but overall, most areas didn’t see any rain at all Wednesday.

We have another opportunity for rain later this evening and overnight as something called an MCS or mesoconvective system crosses the area. These clusters of thunderstorms and showers ride pockets of instability in the atmosphere during the summer and are responsible for much of the rainfall across the Midwest in the warmer months.

Occasionally, these systems hold together and ride the jet stream across New England bringing a period of rain and even thunderstorms. These things are notoriously unpredictable in terms of the exact track, and therefore, while you might hear about showers in the forecast, they can take track further south or north and miss an area in its entirety.

I’ll be watching the track of this system and tweeting updates. I am hoping some of the areas which missed the rain Wednesday are able to get some showers tonight.

The weekend is looking great with warm and sunny conditions. Each day we will see about 2-3 degrees increase over the previous one, so by Sunday afternoon highs will reach well into the 80s and perhaps near 90 degrees over the Connecticut River Valley.

Next week looks questionable in terms of a rain-free period. I think there will be additional opportunities for showers in the upcoming week. Have a great morning.

Today: Lots of clouds and much cooler. Highs 72-78. Small risk of a shower.

Tonight: Cloudy, a period of rain, especially south of the Mass Turnpike. Lows 61-65

Friday: Mostly sunny highs in the lower 80s.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high in the mid 80s

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high in the upper 80s.

Monday: Sun and clouds, warm and somewhat humid. 82-86.

You can follow David’s weather updates on Twitter at @growingwisdom.