May 30, 2012: Storms Return Friday Night

Forecast Highlights:


- Temperatures to gradually cool down through Saturday
- Cold front brings heavy rain, strong storm risk Friday night
- Partly cloudy skies, scattered showers stick around into next week


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Today's Observations:

Behind yesterday's squall line, which affected parts of the area with heavy thunderstorms, temperatures cooled down for today with less humidity. More cloud cover than expected was observed today with Beryl passing to the southeast of the area, with its heavy rain currently staying offshore, with temperatures peaking in the upper 70s to lower 80s from NYC and further north/west and the mid to upper 70s in Long Island/S CT.

Mostly sunny skies will briefly make an appearance on Thursday, although an approaching cold front will result in widespread thunderstorms and possible severe weather on Friday night, with partly cloudy skies and isolated showers possible for the weekend into next week as a low pressure remains stuck over the region.


Thursday's Outlook:


Mostly sunny skies are expected on Thursday along with less humidity but temperatures just as warm as those of today, peaking in the upper 70s to lower 80s across the area. Light NW winds are expected.


Friday - Beyond: Stormy, Then Cooler


A low pressure will move into the Great Lakes region on Friday, with a warm front moving through the region. At this time, the warm front is likely to stay close to the area but still south of NYC, which will keep the best risk of thunderstorms in the southern and central Mid Atlantic, where widespread strong/severe activity is possible later in the day. Temperatures will reach the lower to mid 70s for highs across the area. The cold front will move through later overnight, with a line of heavy rain and thunderstorms expected to move through, especially after 12 AM. The strongest storms will stay west and SW of NYC, where some storms could be strong or perhaps severe, with the potential for 1/2 to 1 inch of rain. The rain will end early on Saturday morning, with clearing skies expected and highs reaching the lower to mid 70s for most places. Sunday will be similar to the second part of Saturday but with partly cloudy skies and the risk of scattered showers, especially in the afternoon.

A strong block is currently located near Greenland, and will begin to shift slightly south around the late weekend into the early week. As a result, the system will be blocked from quickly moving out, and instead another low pressure will develop off the coast, getting stuck near eastern New England while a trough remains mostly stationary over the region. With no high pressure coming in, partly/mostly cloudy skies and scattered showers are likely for early to possibly mid next week. Temperatures will remain below average, in the 70s for highs.