Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boston, MA

Home |  Current Version |  Previous Version |  Text Only |  Print | Product List |  Glossary On
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
-- Highlight Changed Discussion --
-- Discussion containing changed information from previous version are highlighted. --
515 FXUS61 KBOX 182307 AFDBOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA 707 PM EDT Tue Jun 18 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Dangerous heat and humidity continues through Wednesday and Thursday, away from the south coast where the sea breeze keeps temperatures cooler. Near to record breaking high temperatures are possible Thursday. Heat peaks on Thursday before more seasonable temperatures return for the weekend. Showers and thunderstorms possible each afternoon and evening Thursday thru Monday. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING/... Hot, hazy, and humid conditions for this afternoon and into early this evening across the region, as the mid-level ridge is centered overhead. Highs today, away from the influence of the ocean, have climbed well into the upper 80s and lower 90s. While near the ocean those temperatures have provided a bit of relief, the south coast of both Rhode Island and Massachusetts report highs in the upper 70s to the low 80s. Will continue to monitor temperatures for the rest of this afternoon as we challenge a daily record highs. For a full list of records, see the climate section at the bottom of the AFD. Seen storms pop-up across Pennsylvania and portions of New York, think the cap remains firm to avoid and shower development. If there were a widely isolated shower/thunderstorm, would develop off of the terrain of western Massachusetts. Otherwise, a dry evening ahead with temperatures slowly falling through the 80s this evening, but do not expect much relief overnight as lows only fall back to the upper 60s and low 70s. These overnight temperatures will challenge the daily warmest low temperature records. For a full list of records, see the climate section at the bottom of the AFD. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... Highlights: * Heat Advisory for most of southern New England, with the exception of coastal Rhode Island, south coast of Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands. An anomalous ridge of high pressure expanding across the northeast on Wednesday, with forecast 500mb heights around 597 dam! For reference the upper air soundings at CHH show a daily max of 590 dam and all time max of 603 dam. Temperatures continue to warm aloft, +18c to +20c at 850mb, and +23c to +25c at 925mb. These abnormally warm temperatures aloft and higher starting temperatures leads to highs into the lower and middle 90s (away from the coast). Southwest winds over the relatively cooler ocean waters (middle 60s) keep coastal Rhode Island and the south coast of Massachusetts in the upper 70s to middle 80s. Southwest flow does maintain if not slightly increases dew points, mid 60s by the coast while the interior has dewpoints between 68F-72F. Combination of ambient air temperature and high dew points leads to dangerously hot conditions, heat index of 97F to 102F, potentially as high as 104F in the northern Merrimack Valley. Converted `Excessive Heat Watch` to a `Heat Advisory` for Wednesday, but continued the watch for potential higher values Thursday. Elsewhere, have continued the `Heat Advisory` into Wednesday, this includes the expanded zones of the Providence metro, along with northern Plymouth and Bristol Counties in Massachusetts, which includes coastal Plymouth County. Those who work or need to be outdoors, be sure to keep hydrated and take frequent breaks in the shade. If you can stay indoors in an air- conditioned location, do so, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Overall a dry day, similar to Tuesday, cannot rule out a widely isolated shower/thunderstorm, but given our location under the ridge it will be difficult. While there is sufficient CAPE, the atmosphere is capped with the warmer air aloft. The better chance for a shower to develop would be off the terrain across northern ans western Massachusetts. Wednesday night is quite warm, no relief as temperatures only fall back to the upper 60s to 70 degrees. Urban locations likely hold on to the heat of the day, lows likely are around 70F-73F. These overnight temperatures will challenge the daily warmest low temperature records. For a full list of records, see the climate section at the bottom of the AFD. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... Key Points... * Dangerous Heat & Humidity continues Thursday, cooling off for Friday * Near Record Highs with Heat Indices from 98 to 106 degrees on Thu * Scattered showers/t-storms possible Thursday into the weekend. * Excessive Heat breaks this weekend...but it still will be humid Details... Thursday our heat and humidity peaks beneath the broad ridge of high pressure which has been over New England for several days. The guidance and forecast has not changed appreciably for Thursday, and 500 mb heights continue to be highly anomalous leading to a much warmer than average forecast of upper 90s to around 100F. Exacerbating this will be high humidity with dewpoints continuing to hover around the low 70s. Given the heat and humidity, instability will be present on the order of 1000-1500 J/kg of CAPE maximized over the interior. However, lack of good forcing apart from diurnal heating will limit shower/t-storm coverage and minimal bulk shear (<25 kts) will limit prolonged updrafts. Thus, any severe potential is quite limited. Better forcing and marginally better shear to our north mean a better chance for a severe storm there which could make its way into northwest MA where the SPC has issued a Marginal Risk for severe storms. Friday a backdoor cold front courtesy of a surface high north of the Great Lakes will limit high temperatures quite a bit, especially for those further east. It`s a tough forecast as the timing of the front will directly impact high temperatures and storm potential...some locations may briefly touch upper 80s mid morning before dropping into the 70s for the afternoon as cooler NE flow kicks in. Either way, not expecting a repeat of the heat on Thursday. This will also limit instability, keeping thunderstorm chances confined to western SNE or potentially even further west. Again, confidence on these details remains low subject to the placement and timing of the front. For the weekend the airmass doesn`t change much ahead of our next shortwave early in the week so high temperatures will remain similar each day through Monday, in the 80s. The exception will be Saturday along the east coast where continued NE flow keeps temps in the 70s. Instability and shear increase Sunday into Monday as moist SW flow increases ahead of an approaching shortwave/front. This will bring the chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms each day, though details are yet unknown. A cold front moves through sometime Monday or Monday night bringing some relief from the high dewpoints. && .AVIATION /23Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
-- Changed Discussion --
Forecast Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Moderate - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. 00z TAF Update... Tonight... High confidence. VFR, S-SW winds 5-10 kt along with dry weather. Wednesday... High confidence. Almost a rinse and repeat forecast, VFR, mainly dry weather along with SW winds 10-15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt at times. Wednesday Night... High confidence. VFR. SW winds 8-12 kts along with dry weather. KBOS TAF... High confidence in TAF. KBDL TAF...High confidence in TAF. Outlook /Thursday through Sunday/... Thursday through Thursday Night: VFR. Breezy. Slight chance SHRA, isolated TSRA. Friday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Chance SHRA, isolated TSRA. Friday Night through Saturday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Chance SHRA. Saturday Night: Mainly VFR, with local IFR possible. Chance SHRA, isolated TSRA. Sunday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Breezy. Chance SHRA, isolated TSRA.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .MARINE... Forecaster Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Medium - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Tonight through Wednesday Night... High confidence. Vast high pressure provides good boating conditions for the midweek, with dry conditions, and good visibility`s. Steady southwest winds tonight through Wednesday and Wednesday night, wind speeds are between 10 and 20 knots, a few isolated gusts may approach 25 knots on the outer eastern waters. Seas are generally 1-3 ft, approaching 4ft on the eastern outer waters Wednesday afternoon into the evening. Outlook /Thursday through Sunday/... Thursday: Winds less than 25 kt. Thursday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Chance of rain showers, isolated thunderstorms. Friday: Winds less than 25 kt. Chance of rain showers. Friday Night through Saturday: Winds less than 25 kt. Slight chance of rain showers. Saturday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Chance of rain showers, isolated thunderstorms. Sunday: Winds less than 25 kt. Areas of seas approaching 5 ft. Chance of rain showers, isolated thunderstorms. && .CLIMATE... All Time June High Temperature Record (Daily) BOS - 100 F (06/06/1925, 06/26/1952 and 06/30/2021) BDL - 100 F (06/26/1952, 06/30/1964) PVD - 98 F (06/25/1943, 06/15/1945 and 06/30/1945) ORH - 98 F (06/26/1952) Most recent day of 100 F (or greater) BOS - 100 F (07/24/2022) BDL - 100 F (07/21/2019) PVD - 100 F (07/28/2020) ORH - 102 F (07/04/1911)* * For ORH this is the only 100+ degree day in its period of record. Daily High Temperature Records... June 18th BOS - 94 F (1907 and 1929) BDL - 95 F (1957 and 1994) PVD - 94 F (1929) ORH - 93 F (1907 and 1929) June 19th BOS - 96 F (1923) BDL - 95 F (1995) PVD - 94 F (1923) ORH - 93 F (1923) June 20th BOS - 98 F (1953) BDL - 97 F (2012) PVD - 95 F (1941) ORH - 93 F (1953) June 21st BOS - 96 F (2012) BDL - 96 F (1953 and 2012) PVD - 96 F (1941) ORH - 91 F (Multi-Years) Daily Warmest Low Temperatures Records... June 18th BOS - 72 F (1929) BDL - 70 F (1905) PVD - 72 F (1929) ORH - 69 F (1905 and 1994) June 19th BOS - 73 F (1995) BDL - 72 F (1929) PVD - 70 F (1995) ORH - 72 F (1929) June 20th BOS - 78 F (1931) BDL - 74 F (1931) PVD - 74 F (1931) ORH - 72 F (1931) June 21st BOS - 80 F (2012) BDL - 73 F (1923 and 2012) PVD - 75 F (2012) ORH - 74 F (1923 and 2012) && .BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
-- Changed Discussion --
CT...Air Quality Alert until 11 PM EDT this evening for CTZ002. Heat Advisory from 8 AM to 7 PM EDT Wednesday for CTZ002-003. Excessive Heat Watch from Thursday morning through Friday evening for CTZ002-003. Heat Advisory until 7 PM EDT Friday for CTZ004. MA...Air Quality Alert until 11 PM EDT this evening for MAZ005>007- 010>012. Heat Advisory from 8 AM to 7 PM EDT Wednesday for MAZ003-005- 006-010-011-013-014. Excessive Heat Watch from Thursday morning through Friday evening for MAZ003-005-006-010-011-013-014. Heat Advisory until 7 PM EDT Friday for MAZ002-004-007>009-012- 015-016-026. Heat Advisory from noon Wednesday to 7 PM EDT Friday for MAZ017>019. RI...Heat Advisory until 7 PM EDT Friday for RIZ001. Heat Advisory from noon Wednesday to 7 PM EDT Friday for RIZ002>005. MARINE...None.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& $$ SYNOPSIS...BW/Dooley NEAR TERM...Dooley SHORT TERM...Dooley LONG TERM...BW AVIATION...BW/Dooley MARINE...BW/Dooley CLIMATE...BL