[SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN TWO ROUNDS POSSIBLE TODAY… FIRST AROUND MID-AFTERNOON, SECOND AROUND AND AFTER SUNSET BUT BEFORE MIDNIGHT… STRAIGHT-LINE DAMAGING WIND, LARGE HAIL, FREQUENT LIGHTNING, DOWNPOURS, AND ISOLATED TORNADO ALL POSSIBLE… WARM AND HUMID TODAY… MUCH NICER DAY TOMORROW… SUNDAY MORNING SUN GIVES WAY TO CLOUDS AND SHOWERS BY EVENING, WHICH EXTENDS INTO MONDAY AND POSSIBLY TUESDAY, COOLER… 7:20AM FRIDAY]

Good morning everybody, today is a day to keep an eye to the western sky, and to move indoors should skies darken and the sound of thunder resonate your ear drums.

There’s lots to talk about, so I’m going to dash through the double-dashes to point out the key notes for you.

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SEVERE WEATHER SUMMARY
–A nice enough morning has arrived, temps near 50 degrees, rain showers off to the southeast
–A warm front pushes through the region this morning, and temps will respond
–Southwest flow develops, as do highs in the 75-80 degree range, very war!
–Humidity will correspondingly rise, with dew point temps rising into the 50s and low to mid 60s!
–Might be worth keeping the windows closed to keep that dank air out, then opening back up tomorrow to let the fresher air in
–The warm front will likely stall out somewhere in central VT/NH, but its northern extent is not known at this time
–South of that frontal boundary, we will see clouds break up and we should get a period of partly sunny skies, which will allow our temps to soar into the 70s to near 80 degrees in spots
–This is what would help spawn the first round of strong to severe storms: surface heating
–The first round of storms would feature more isolated or “discrete” cell formation, and to be honest, it is those types of storms that form out ahead (i.e. east) of the cold front that can become tornadic
–Given both directional and speed wind shear (i.e. wind that changes direction AND speed as you rise in elevation) present today, there is a low chance for an isolated tornado or two
–It is the 2-5pm timeframe that we have to watch for this first round of severe weather potential, with those storms increasing in intensity as they head into CMass and EMass
–Then we get a lull, and look west to the cold front which will be crashing the party from northwest to southeast between 8pm-midnight this evening
–This is the second round of potential, and this is where a better chance of straight-line wind damage is possible with a squall line forming along the front
–You can get isolated tornadoes with any segments of that squall line that bow, or bulge forward/outward, too
–Large hail is possible with these storms today as well
–Hopefully the mid-afternoon isolated storms materialize in weaker fashion, and hopefully the squall line tonight happens too late to take advantage of the heating of the day, which could tamp down their intensity
–All activity ends by around midnight with just some showers or downpours as it all exists south and east
–PLEASE NOTE: The highest chance for severe weather is along and north of the Route 9 corridor in WMass and CMass, up into southern VT and southwest NH

WEEKEND INTO MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK
–For Saturday, our pick of the weekend is a lock
–Clouds may persist in the morning for a bit, but a partly sunny day should develop, with drier humidities, light northwest winds, and highs in the upper 60s to low 70s
–Lows Saturday night will drop into the upper 40s under partly to mostly cloudy skies
–Clouds will build on Sunday, though a few peeks of sun are possible in the morning
–Scattered showers are expected to arrive by afternoon, with highs in the mid to upper 60s
–Showers will continue at night with lows near 50, and Monday and Monday night look rainy too, with highs Monday only reaching the mid to upper 50s with lows in the 40s
–A few morning showers on Tuesday, will lead to a mostly cloudy and drying day with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s
–Fair and warming weather returns Wednesday and Thursday, with highs well into the 60s to near 70 degrees by Thursday

Clearly, we’ve turned the corner into Spring as the second week of May comes to a close.

Please stay tuned to this page today for updates on this potential severe weather event.

If you don’t see me in your newsfeed, seek me out. I’m here. Just because I don’t show up in your feed, doesn’t mean I am not on the case, so pretend I’m a TV channel, and remember to turn on the TV and pay me a visit.

Have a good day…