Good morning everybody, well that was a wild pair of days in the weather department, and as much as I love the weather, the damage that it can cause when it organizes and perfects itself can be truly devastating, as we saw with the tornado that touched down in Chelsea and Revere, MA yesterday as an EF-2 twister.

Luckily no one was killed or injured but there was certainly a lot of structural damage, with roofs torn off, porches collapsed, and lots of big trees downed as a result of the approximately 120mph peak winds that were generated. That’s the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane!

In Western Mass, we had plenty of strong to severe thunderstorms and downpours yesterday, with damaging wind gusts, hail, and flooding in places.

That’s all behind us now, as the strengthening low that was responsible has moved northeast up into northern Maine, and its attendant cold front has pushed off the coast at this time. How far east this front travels could play into this weekend’s weather – more on that later.

As for today, it will be a crisp, beautiful, sunny day that feels more like early Autumn then late July. Highs will be in the mid 70s in Western Mass, and lows could reach down into the upper 40s in the coldest valleys, but should stay in the lower 50s.

Tomorrow looks very nice as well, slightly warmer in the upper 70s, and the slightest chance of a shower during the heat of the day. There is a very cold pool of air aloft, and as the sun heats the surface during the day, even though it’s drier and more comfortable, the lapse rates could still be strong enough to create some mild convection, resulting in what are called “instability” showers, which are normally very scattered in nature, and are usually light to moderate in intensity.

Thursday we could see even more in the way of these kinds of showers, and possibly an isolated thunderstorm, but they won’t be widespread, if they occur at all.

Friday into the weekend gets interesting, as the cold front that is offshore now, may be pulled westward by an approaching trough, and if that happens, we could have a steady rain this Saturday, with some clearing on Sunday.

I’ll keep an eye on it and let you know what’s happening as we get closer and get more information. Hopefully the weekend will work out well weather-wise.

And if that’s not enough, there is a tropical disturbance way down to the west of Africa, that shows signs of strengthening. It also shows signs of potentially affecting the east coast, and if it jogs enough to the west-northwest towards the Bahamas (or to the north of the islands), New Englanders will need to keep an eye out, as that is a favorable location for an upper east coast or New England impact.

Never a dull moment tracking weather in New England and Western Mass! Have a great day.