First 90 degree days of summer coming this weekend
By Terry Eliasen, Meteorologist, WBZ-TV Executive Weather Producer
BOSTON - We are starting to turn up the heat and humidity as we head into the weekend. On Friday many locations (just inland) could hit or top 80 degrees with a bit more humidity as well.
This weekend bring a chance at 90 degrees. Ninety degrees has long been a summer benchmark here in New England. In many parts of the country, they barely take notice when the mercury tops 90. Here it is a sign of a truly HOT day. In recent times (the last 30 years), Boston averages about 15 days of 90+ per year. (1 in May, 3 in June, 6 in July, 4 in August, 1 in September).
Compare that with say Dallas, Texas, where they average 106 days of 90+ and you can see why a 90 degree day is a bit more meaningful up this way.
By this time of year, on average, Boston typically has hit 90 a handful of times. Last year by this date we had already done it 8 times, including a whopping 5-day heat wave!
One year later, in 2022, we are still waiting for our first 90-degree day. In order to find a year in which we have waited this long, you have to go all the way back to 2019 (ok so I may have overplayed that a bit), when we didn't get our first 90 until July 5.
This is a long-winded way of saying that we are due. And that brings us to this coming weekend. For the last several days, and really going back to last weekend, the Northeast has been under a dip in the jet stream. This has caused several areas of low pressure to spin off to our east, none of which has produced a whole lot of rain, but, they have been sending a steady diet of relatively cool air down from the north and east.
Finally, this weekend, a bit of a break in the pattern. The low pressure to our east will get kicked out to sea and, at least for a few days, we will find ourselves under the same giant ridge in the jet stream that has been baking a large part of the country for the last several days.
I am expecting several towns to hit or exceed 90 on both Saturday and Sunday. It is nearly a lock in places like the Merrimack River Valley and frankly most inland areas at lower elevation.
At the immediate coastline, as usual, things will be a bit tricky. With the ocean still being so cool this time of year, in order to get truly hot at the beaches you need a decent land breeze out of the west or northwest.
This weekend the winds will be quite light, thus I am anticipating some local sea breezes to kick in and keep temperatures at the beaches in the 70s and low 80s for the most part. In the city of Boston, the official temperature is taken at Logan Airport, right on the water. Therefore, it is possible that while most of the suburbs and perhaps even downtown Boston hit 90, the "official" temperature may not ever get there in the city.
Of course, none of you are living at the airport, so for all practical purposes, unless you are at the beach this weekend, most of you are likely to experience a few days in the 90s.
In case you were wondering, the record high temperatures in Boston this weekend are 97 and 100 degrees for Saturday and Sunday. We will certainly NOT be challenging those.
And finally, the heat will be short-lived, as a cool front is expected to bring us back down to average on Monday, perhaps bringing with it some much needed rainfall.
