Enjoy the parades, then prepare for rain
The recent heat wave that settled over the Boston region will soon give way to alternating days of cool and rainy weather, according to the National Weather Service, but — hopefully — not until after Monday’s Memorial Day parades reach their patriotic conclusions.
While rain is possible through many of the coming days and nights due to a series of cold fronts entering the region and displacing the stationary weather system that’s kept the Bay State feeling very summer-like over the past week, it’s not all bad news said NWS Meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini.
The odds are good, Dellicarpini said, that the first of those cold fronts won’t land until Monday afternoon or evening, leaving most early parade goers and floats dry, probably.
“Monday morning might be okay, can’t say for sure it’s going to be dry, but odds are better than they are later in the day,” the meteorologist said. “For Boston, rain is going to mainly be in the afternoon and especially at night. The morning of Memorial Day we should be on the dry side.”
Some scattered thunderstorms potentially soaking the region overnight Sunday should have finished up by Monday morning, Dellicarpini said, leaving the parade routes overcast but otherwise dry.
When the cold front does arrive, likely after 3 p.m., it will bring more thunderstorms and noticeably cooler temperatures, with highs forecast to top out in the lower 70s across the region and Boston stuck in the upper 60s, he said.
“At least 10 degrees cooler than today,” Dellicarpini said.
Monday night will be cooler, with temperatures in the low 60s and more thunderstorms possible overnight.
It should warm up again on Tuesday, Dellicarpini said, with high temperatures back in the low 80s and less chance of rain.
“We dry out on Tuesday, and we’ll be dry into Wednesday,” he said.
Overnight lows heading into Wednesday will fall to about 60 degrees under mostly clear skies, according to the weather service.
Dellicarpini said a second cold front should come in sometime on Wednesday that brings more rain, most likely starting in the afternoon and carrying through to Thursday morning, and high temperatures in the upper 70s.
After the rain clears Thursday morning, the day is expected to be dry and cooler, with highs around 70 degrees.
As of now the weekend appears to be dry and mostly sunny, Dellicarpini said, with a high pressure system forecast to arrive and push away moisture. High temperatures in the low to mid 70s can be expected, according to the weather service.