Monday night: Clearing, cold wind. Lows around 30, wind chill teens. Tuesday: Milder with sun, but a continued gusty wind. Highs in the 50s, 40s north. Wednesday: Fair with a light wind. Highs in the 50s.
Our new week starts with blustery conditions regionwide, as a powerful storm near Halifax represents very low barometric pressure, while a large fair weather cell over the southeast United States represents high pressure.
The difference in air pressure between those two systems is fueling a northwest wind gusting to 45 mph at times, only strong enough for isolated outages, but driving wind chill values into the 30s at even the warmest time of Monday.
Along the southeast slopes of the White Mountains, the wind will accelerate after sweeping over the summits, and towns in the lee of the White Mountains will find localized gusts over 50 mph Monday afternoon and evening, causing scattered wind damage and power outages.
The wind will quiet below damaging levels but still gust to 40 mph overnight Monday night under a clearing sky, sending wind chill values into the teens with actual lows in the 20s to around 30.
Sunshine and wind will be the themes Tuesday, though the northwest wind gusts will be less intense than Monday, reaching 35 to 40 mph at their worst. The wind chill will also be less of a factor Tuesday, with high temperatures climbing into the 50s in southern New England and 40s north.
By Wednesday, the wind will be light with a gentle sea breeze developing during the afternoon and a blend of sun and clouds that may drop an isolated afternoon sprinkle in northern New England. A quick shower is possible Wednesday night as warmer air continues spilling into New England from the southwest, with that air pushing temperatures Thursday into the 60s away from the coast in southern New England (50s in northern New England), while communities closer to the ocean hold in the 50s and then drop a bit in the afternoon with another round of sea breezes kicking up.
The chance of showers rises Thursday evening and night, then throughout the day Friday, and scattered showers are also possible Saturday and Sunday as rounds of weak low pressure – weak storm centers – ripple along a wavy, stationary frontal boundary that will stall somewhere near New England.
At this point, next week looks likely to start with closer to normal temperatures, if not slightly cooler than normal, as a northwest wind returns to New England, seen at the end of our exclusive First Alert 10-day forecast.
