Severe Thunderstorm Watch In Effect
There's been no real change to our thinking here in the WBZ Weather center; severe storms are possible today with the time frame of greatest concern between 2-8 PM.
A few details to go over…
Downpours and rumbles of thunder late this morning into the early afternoon isn't the main event but rather a warm front lifting through the region. The cold front later on is the bigger player in our weather today. Our risk of severe weather does hinge (at least partially) upon how much sun breaks out later today. The sun warms us up and in turn, creates instability in the atmosphere. Essentially, more sun = stronger storms. Even with limited sunshine, there will still be some nasty boomers later on today, but the activity wouldn't be as widespread.
The primary threats with any cells that develop is for damaging wind gusts (58 mph or greater) as well as large hail, frequent lightning and torrential rain. The wind is not uniform in the atmosphere today; there's a change in the wind direction with height, the "spin" essential for rotating thunderstorms. An isolated tornado can't be ruled out and I wouldn't be shocked to see multiple tornado warnings issued later on today.
Keep in mind, not everyone is going to see a storm…and not every storm will cause damage. Use the above timeline as a general guide. The Storm Prediction Center based out of Norman, Oklahoma does have southern New England (except far southeast MA) in the 2-5% probability zone for tornadoes, which is rare for New England.
My biggest piece of advice for today? Monitor for warnings and be prepared to seek shelter immediately if one is issued for your area.
We will break into programming this afternoon as warranted – so stay tuned to WBZ for the very latest and be safe!
Danielle