


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boston, MA
Issued by NWS Boston, MA
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401 FXUS61 KBOX 190600 AFDBOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA 200 AM EDT Thu Jun 19 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Overcast skies and muggy conditions persist through the rest of the day with lingering showers pushing across central MA today. A Heat Advisory is in effect for Thursday with heat indices ranging from 97 to near 105. There is also a risk for strong to severe thunderstorms Thursday afternoon as a cold front moves through. Drier and seasonably warm Friday and Saturday. A multi- day stretch of significant heat is possible starting early next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/... Key Messages: * Overcast conditions remain through the evening with a quick round of scattered showers across western MA. * Muggy again tonight with lows in the upper 60s to low 70s and temperatures near 70. Details: Another round of scattered showers is moving into western MA/northwest CT moving NE this afternoon associated with another weak disturbance in the SW flow aloft. Should only result in a quick shower... not expecting any lightning/high winds/etc. Muggy conditions continue through the afternoon and evening, with little relief expected over the next day or so. High humidity continues tonight as dewpoints remain in the high 60s, possibly even into the low 70s across the interior, meaning dewpoint spreads will only be around 1-2 degrees at most. Broad SW flow continues aloft while moist southerly flow continues in the lower levels. This is the primary driver behind the overcast stratus, and will also lead to a wider area of patchy fog tonight... especially along southern RI, the South Shore, Cape and Islands. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH 6 PM FRIDAY/... Key Messages: * Heat Advisory in effect for tomorrow with temperatures feeling like 95-105. * Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms as soon as 3 PM, but more likely between 5 to 9 PM. Damaging straight line winds, torrential downpours, and frequent lightning are the main concerns. * Much less humid Thursday night and drying out. Thursday: Stratus and fog likely lingers through mid-morning, but should scatter out/dissipate quickly once the winds start picking up. Thursday still looks to be quite active, as the eroding of the cloud cover will lead to a hazy, hot and humid late morning to midafternoon. A strong cold front associated with a rather strong frontal system for late-June will also lead to potentially strong to severe thunderstorms Thursday afternoon. 1... Heat and Humidity... Without question, Thursday stands to be one of the hottest days in southern New England up to this point in the summer, and it will only feel worse with high humidity levels. 850mb temperatures warm to around +17C-20C on increasing southwesterly flow. High temperatures should soar into the mid 80s across the Cape and Islands and into the low to mid 90s across the rest of the CWA. With the prolonged moist, southerly flow... dewpoints will hover in the low 70s, making it feel like 97-105 degrees outside in the CT and Merrimack Valleys as well as the I-95 corridor. It will likely feel like 95-100 degrees across a wider portion of Southern New England (excluding the south coast/Cape Cod where it may feel closer to 90 degrees). Seabreezes are not expected as southwesterly surface winds pick up to around 10-15 mph. A Heat Advisory is in effect, and we encourage those to take appropriate heat-related precautions such as taking frequent breaks in shaded and air conditioned areas, remaining hydrated, and checking in on those sensitive to heat such as the elderly and pets. The high heat and humidity is not expected to break until the cold front moves across the area later Thursday evening. 2... Strong to Severe Thunderstorms Late in the Day... Guidance is indicating 850-500mb lapse rates will be quite steep, around 8-10 C/km, creating an environment that`s moderately to strongly unstable. Afternoon MLCAPE values range around 1500-2500 J/kg, with the highest values in interior Southern New England. Most guidance indicates a moderate amount of capping, which should act to suppress convection until the forcing arrives as a cold front arrives... which leads to one of the biggest questions in the forecast: there is still some disagreement as to when the front arrives. We anticipate the main threat for severe weather to begin after 3 PM in western New England, and particularly in the 5-9 PM timeframe as a line of storms. If any isolated storm were to develop on the prefrontal trough ahead of the main line of storms in the mid to late afternoon, it would likely become strong to severe quickly. However, most guidance (including high-resolution and convection allowing models) are indicating the main threat forming a line of strong to severe storms moving in from eastern NY after 5 PM with the cold front. Of some concern is that flow fields have trended a little stronger (850 winds now near 50 kt in some models), and bring deep shear values to around 40 kt. We have high confidence that the greatest threat for severe weather is west of I-95/I-495, but some threat is possible towards sunset in the I-95 corridor, especially if convection can get going earlier in the afternoon. Damaging wind gusts continue to be the primary hazard, but with a linear storm mode and the increased low level windfields, a brief tornado embedded in the line could exist too. Street flooding could be possible in isolated instances, but the storms should be moving along at a good clip. Hail is a secondary risk as well, but the linear storm mode and the hot airmass might limit hail growth potential. Included gusty winds, small hail and heavy downpour hazards in enhanced wording, and messaged as scattered thunderstorms to bring greater awareness. Those with plans outside during the afternoon, especially from the Berkshires/Litchfield Hills eastward to Metrowest, will want to keep close tabs on the forecast for the afternoon. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Key Messages: * Cooler and windy Friday with gusts 25-40 mph. * Mainly dry Friday. More unsettled for Saturday with shower chances. * Signal for well above normal temperatures early next week with potential to reach dangerous/impactful levels. Friday-Weekend: Mid level troughing persists over the region Friday with NW flow aloft. Subsident flow should bring in drier air in place for Friday which will keep conditions dry for Friday. A 40-55 kt LLJ positions across southern New England. Model soundings shows sufficient mixing a little below 850mb which should help bring down gusty W-NW winds. The ECMWF ensemble EFI shows a signal for anomalous wind gusts with the stronger signal more confined to the higher terrain of New England. This means we are likely to have a gusty day, with lower potential for higher impact winds for southern New England. Ensemble guidance show gusts in the 25-40 mph range with the higher end of that range over the higher elevations (east slope of Berkshires and Worcester Hills). Temperatures trend lower than Thursday in the cooler post-frontal airmass with highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s. Saturday, a mid-level ridge approaches from the west. A weak piece of shortwave energy rounds the ridge dropping across the region later Saturday-Saturday night. Combined with higher moisture, this should bring a more unsettled day. Models show a weak signal for precipitation with differences with respect to coverage and timing. Most guidance keeps the higher chances for scattered showers/few storms for later Saturday. Can`t rule out a spot shower during the day or even a storm given the marginal instability (MLCAPE < 500 J/kg). Sunday through Early Next Week: Ensemble guidance shows good agreement that an anomalously strong upper level ridge shifts into the northeast by early next week. Unsurprisingly, this is coupled with a signal for 850mb temperatures a couple standard deviations above normal. NAEFS, ECMWF EFI also displays a strong signal for well above normal heat. Ensemble guidance also shows a stream of moisture transporting into the region over the top of the upper ridge. This will help bring in higher moisture air which mean higher humidity. Another element will be warm temperatures overnight providing little relief from the hot daytime temperatures. Together, these elements will raise the risk for heat-related impacts to those in southern New England. Rising heat and humidity begins Sunday extending through early next week. NWS Heat Risk is quite reflective of the rising temperatures and humidity with values increasing into the Moderate Category Sunday and into the High Category Monday/Tuesday for most places. Even the Cape/Islands enter the Moderate Category by Tuesday. What this means is that early next week will have a high risk for heat related impacts, especially to heat sensitive people, urban populations, and those who lack cooling sources. This is still further out, so stay tuned as confidence increases in this signal. At this point, awareness/preparedness are beneficial given the potential for impactful heat/humidity next week. Find/have a location that provides cooling/AC and plan more strenuous activities outside of the hotter parts of the day. && .AVIATION /06Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Forecaster Confidence Levels... Low - less than 30 percent. Moderate - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. 06Z TAF Update: Through 12z Thursday: High confidence in trends, though moderate on exact timing. IFR to LIFR stratus and fog has already developed in most locations but will continue to expand northward through the rest of the overnight. Possible hit-or-miss shower for the interior airports thru 10z. Light S winds, calm at times. Today: High confidence in trends, though moderate on timing. IFR-LIFR stratus and fog dissipate for most airports between 13-14z; although at least IFR is likely to continue over the Cape and Islands much of the day. VFR with hazy conditions once stratus dissipates. Focus then turns to strong to severe TSRA potential for the afternoon to early evening. Growing consensus in scattered to numerous t-storms between 18-23z for BAF-BDL-HFD-ORH corridor, some which may turn severe. Have hit these airports the hardest, with prevailing VCTS with TEMPO 2 SM +TSRA in the aforementioned timeframe. It`s still a question if BOS, PVD and BED sees t-storms but the potential seems to be on the increase, best chance between 22-00z. Maintained PROB30s for these TAFs, and later TAF issuances could increase the t-storm potential here. Damaging wind gusts and torrential downpours are the primary severe-storm hazards. SW winds increase to around 10 kt by late this morning, with developing gusts to 20-25 kt during the afternoon. Tonight: High confidence. A low chance for lingering TSRA thru 02z but improvement is expected at all airports. IFR stratus and fog out over the Cape and Islands may still linger until we see a gusty westerly windshift overnight. SW to W winds increase to around 10-15 kt with gusts low-20s kt range, with possible LLWS for the Cape and Islands from a 40kt westerly low level jet. Friday: High confidence. VFR. W/WNW winds become gusty by late morning, with speeds 13-18 kt and gusts 25-35 kt. KBOS Terminal...Moderate confidence in TAF. IFR ceilings scatter to VFR after 14z, with possible HZ due to very humid air. Monitoring for possible TSRA 22-00z; while confidence is still lower on occurrence, the potential continues to increase. Maintained PROB30 -TSRA for now. SW winds becoming 10-13 kt today with gusts 20-23 kt, with a windshift to W overnight at similar speeds. KBDL Terminal...Moderate confidence in TAF. IFR ceilings scatter to VFR 13-14z, with possible HZ due to very humid air. Greater potential for TSRA/+TSRA between 18-23z and indicated VCTS starting 18z with TEMPO 2SM +TSRA 19-23z due to growing confidence. Damaging winds, frequent lightning and heavy downpours all threats in +TSRA. S winds around 10-12 kt with gusts to 20 kt today, then with a windshift to W around midnight at similar speeds. Outlook /Friday Night through Monday/... Saturday: VFR. Saturday Night through Sunday: VFR. Breezy. Chance SHRA, slight chance TSRA. Sunday Night: VFR. Monday through Monday Night: Tuesday: Breezy. && .MARINE... Forecaster Confidence Levels... Low - less than 30 percent. Medium - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Winds and seas through Wednesday night should remain below small craft advisory thresholds. S winds around 10-15 kt with seas around 4 ft or less. Small craft advisory in effect for Thurs and Fri both from building seas near 5 ft and SW winds around 25-30 kt. Foggy conditions again tonight. Potential for strong to severe thunderstorms in the nearshore waters late Thursday evening into the overnight period. Outlook /Friday Night through Monday/... Saturday: Winds less than 25 kt. Saturday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Slight chance of rain showers. Sunday: Low risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up to 25 kt. Slight chance of rain showers. Sunday Night through Monday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching 5 ft. Monday Night through Tuesday: Winds less than 25 kt. && .BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...Heat Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 8 PM EDT this evening for CTZ002>004. MA...Heat Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 8 PM EDT this evening for MAZ003>007-010>019-026. RI...Heat Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 8 PM EDT this evening for RIZ001-002. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 8 AM EDT Friday for ANZ250-254>256. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Loconto NEAR TERM...Loconto SHORT TERM...Loconto LONG TERM...Loconto AVIATION...Loconto MARINE...Loconto