Good afternoon folks, as I sit here and ponder the yonder (10 points to whoever gets that reference) what makes this storm notable isn’t that it could dump 1-3”+ of rainfall and produce northeast gusts of 30-50mph at times — we’ve seen that before, and we know what’s like to experience a solid, impactful New England Autumn rainstorm capable of some notable but not unsurvivable weather hazards.

However, for me it’s the fact that it’s occurring in late September. I can’t remember the last rainy and windy September nor’easter in these parts, can yuou? I’m sure somebody can, but these types of systems are usually saved for later October or November as we get closer to the winter season.

Anyway, here we are, and unfortunately this system continues to trend with the expectation that it’s going to put a literal damper on some of the outdoor personal and public gatherings – events and activities that have been long-planned for many a neighbor in these parts, and I am sorry to be the bearer of this bad news.

But, these systems are known to surprise, especially storms that produce ocean bands of precipitation that back in from east to west, or southeast to northwest like this one will.

All this to say, we had a lovely day today, and we’ll have a dry night tonight with lows in the 40s to near 50º.

Friday at this point looks mostly dry and partly sunny early trending to mostly cloudy with a few showers possible between later afternoon and sunset, mainly in parts of northeast CT and CMass, well east of I-91. Highs will reach well into the 60s.

The Friday night into Saturday morning period is tricky, as there are some signs it could be more hit or miss showers or bands of showers and lulls passing through the region from southeast to northwest before the heavier, steadier rainfall arrives some time Saturday afternoon and peaking Saturday evening, night and into Sunday morning, along with the strong wind gusts out of the northeast.

The storm is certainly trending towards a more westerly track closer to the longitude of the WMass region which increases our wind chances for sure, with northeast gusts of 30-45 now expected Saturday into Sunday, with some gusts to 50mph or more in the high terrain. That’s where outages are most likely to be isolated to scattered with leaf-out catching that wind and taking some branches, limbs, and trees down at elevation.

However, we’ll need our storm center to get north enough in latitude to send the heavier bands of rainfall in here, and I will need to update you in the morning.

The bottom line is a multi-day, longer-duration nor’easter is set to impact southern New England starting Friday night and not fully getting out of here until Monday afternoon with the potential for the storm track to retrograde westward, loop, stall, and then eject seaward by Monday.

More tomorrow morning, have a great night!