Forecast: Cooler Weather Ahead, But Still Not Bitter Cold

What a day it was Monday to start off the month of February. I washed my car, turned off the heat and opened the windows. I even brought some houseplants outside to do some work on them. Yet, it’s not spring and today will feel more like winter, but not terribly so.

A cold front passed through the region early yesterday afternoon and as it did so the temperatures began to fall. If the front had been two hours later, I think Boston would have broken their high temperature record for the date, but even without the record, it was the second warmest start to February in over 150 years.

Today brings lots of sunshine and noticeable chill. Highs will still be above average, but more than 20 degrees cooler than 24 hours ago.

A large storm will move to our west on Wednesday and usher in another shot of milder air. This time however, instead of sunshine we are going to have rain. Since the winds will be coming off the cool ocean waters, highs will only reach the mid-50s.

The map below shows expected rainfall from this system. Many areas will see up to an inch of rain. Since the ground isn’t frozen, the water will easily soak into the earth and flooding issues won’t be a problem.

As the storm passes, skies will clear and Thursday is another mild and spring-like day. Seasonably cold air returns for the weekend and much of next week. There will be storms passing out to sea and although forecasts keep them offshore, we’ll have to monitor each new run of the models for possible changes.

You can follow my weather updates on Twitter at @growingwisdom.

Today: Lots of sunshine. Highs 41-46.

Tonight: Clouding up. Cool. Lows 29-35.

Wednesday: Rainy periods and very mild. Highs 52-56.

Thursday: Lots of sunshine. Highs in the 40s to near 50.

Friday: Colder with sunshine and some clouds. Highs in the 30s to near 40.

Saturday: Sunshine and clouds. Highs 36-41.