BLOG: Rainy Days Ahead

A rather wet weather pattern will unfold across the Northeast over the next several days, but it looks like at least eastern portions of the viewing area will squeak out one more dry day before the unsettled weather arrives. A deep upper-level trough will ever so slowly work eastward this weekend, and with a blocking high becoming stronger over the Atlantic expect this thing to go nowhere fast. Upper-level energy will round the top of a second ridge over the northern Plains, and this energy will reinvigorate the now closed-off upper-level low as we head into Tuesday.

Given this, expect the rain to be fairly showery in nature tonight through the first half of Tuesday with an occasional rumble of thunder as well. In fact, an isolated strong/severe storm is not out of the question on Sunday with any sunshine, though chances are slim at this point. Regardless, as we head through Tuesday evening and into the day Wednesday, the pressure gradient between a high over Newfoundland and a surface low over the Carolinas will lead to an increasingly strong east flow and copious amounts of moisture streaming inland. So that said, it looks like the
heaviest rainfall will occur Late Tuesday and/or Wednesday. Total rainfall amounts through the forecast period may exceed two inches, obviously depending on how much thunderstorm activity materializes and exactly how strong the easterly fetch is early next week. Some clearing is possible on Friday, but I wouldn't count on it at this juncture... these systems are notorious for being slower to exit than model guidance indicates. Today is the best day of the next five, if not six... so enjoy it.