Good morning folks, I hope you slept like a lil’ baby overnight, though I’d wager that some of you did not given the anomalous / early-season warmth and humidity increasing with dewpoints in the low to mid 60s. We’ve got two more days in what will become 2026’s first heat wave for some, especially in the CT River Valley around and south of Northampton down to Hartford region.

For today, temps will soar as our east-coast upper ridge flexes to its northern latitudinal terminus (say that 10 times fast), pushing heat and humidity through our region, resulting in highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s for many of us, along with some upper 90s readings possible.

This will tie or break max-temp records for May 19th in the region, and is why Heat Advisories are up for the next couple of days given that heat indices may rise into the upper 90s. It really is a borderline event for a Heat Advisory, but given that it’s the first of the year, NWS hoisted it, and rightly so.

We’ll also be on the look out for isolated strong to possibly severe thunderstorms later this afternoon into early evening, and any storms may produce hail or strong gusty winds and heavy rainfall.

Any activity winds down later this evening with humid lows only dropping to either side of 70º, which will be followed by more hot highs in the mid 80s to low 90s tomorrow / Wednesday.

A cold front will sweep through the region Wednesday afternoon and evening, and should help to focus scattered showers and thunderstorms, though I keep getting the hit that any storms that form today may be more potent than tomorrow’s, but I will continue to monitor trends.

Any Wednesday activity winds down before midnight, and temps will crash into the mid 40s to low 50s for lows as much drier air runs through the region, giving us a drier, cooler, and way more refreshing start to the day by Thursday morning.

The late week period through Memorial Day Weekend will feature slowly dropping temperatures from the mid 60s to low 70s for highs Thursday and Friday, to well down into the 60s Saturday and Sunday with some upper 50s possible in the high terrain, before we move back into the 65-70º range for Memorial Day itself, which looks to be the sunniest day of the holiday weekend.

Uncertainty remains for Saturday and Sunday regarding timing, intensity, and impacts from a system that looks to bring rain to our region, but some trends indicate some suppression of that feature to our south.

For now, I remain a bit guarded, and will keep you updated as the days come and go, as I know it’s a big weekend for many of us.

Have a great day!

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”
― Joseph Campbell

YOUR NUTSHELL:
–Upper ridge climbs the eastern seaboard today and pumps heat into the upper 80s to mid 90s, with some upper 90s highs possible in the lower valley
–Records will likely be tied and/or broken today
–Humidity comes up with dewpoints in the low to mid 60s
–A weak wave along with orographic effects (i.e. the presence of mountains that force air to rise as it pushes into them) will spark some isolated showers, downpours, and thunderstorms
–One or two thunderstorms may become strong to severe with hail and strong gusty wind possible
–Timeframe is mostly 3-8pm for any stronger storms
–Lows tonight will be very warm, hanging in the mid 60s to low 70s under mostly clear skies
–Wednesday represents one final day of heat and humidity before a strong cold front sweeps the region in the evening
–Highs will be a few degrees lower, hitting the low 80s to low 90s for most of us
–We’ll be mostly sunny early with clouds bubbling up in the afternoon ahead of the cold front
–Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected, though intensity is still a bit in question
–The cold front sweeps through early in the night, with lows dropping into the mid 40s to low 50s
–The late week period looks much more comfortable and seasonable with highs in the mid 60s to low 70s with lows in the 40s under mostly sunny skies
–By Saturday and Sunday, some rainfall is possible, but uncertainty remains on timing and intensity, though Saturday morning is a pretty good bet for being dry
–Highs for the entire Memorial Weekend will cool down into the 60s for highs, with perhaps a few upper 50s in the highest terrain on Saturday
–Sunnier skies should develop by Memorial Day

YOUR DAILY CELESTIALS
STAR:
–OUR STAR ROSE AT: 5:25am this morning
–OUR STAR SETS AT: 8:08pm this evening
–TOTAL DAYLIGHT TIME: 14 hours and 43 minutes

MOON:
–OUR MOON RISES AT: 7:37am this morning
–MOON RISE DIRECTION: Northeast
–OUR MOON SETS AT: 11:55pm tonight
–MOON SET DIRECTION: Northwest
–MOON PHASE: Waxing Crescent (10.4%)