We’re keeping an eye on everything from local showers to Hurricane Helene, plus we’ll give you a sneak peek into the upcoming Topsfield Fair, kicking off on October 4th – all in today’s Insights video for the deep dive into the meteorology behind the forecast…or get the overview, written below!
For more on the next 24 hours, see our Noyes’ Notes/1°Outside Today video, but a cold front is sweeping through the region, bringing pockets of rain to northern New England and spreading showers across the area. So far, some places in northern New Hampshire have seen up to an inch of rain with more still coming, while southern New England will pick up less, generally a quarter to half an inch. Expect downpours and possibly embedded thunderstorms this afternoon into early evening, especially across southern New England, taper off tonight into early Friday morning as the front moves offshore, clearing things up for Friday.
By Friday morning, most showers will be gone, leaving us with a quiet and mild day. Expect lingering clouds in southern New England, but dry conditions will dominate for much of the day. High temperatures will climb into the low to mid-70s for most, with slightly cooler temperatures in the mountains and on the Cape. A northwest breeze will bring in drier air, making it a great end to the week.
Friday night will be cooler, with temperatures dropping into the 50s across southern areas and the 40s in northern New England.
The upcoming weekend looks fantastic for outdoor plans, with high pressure building in. Both Saturday and Sunday are shaping up to be seasonable fall days, with highs in the 60s at the coast and low 70s inland. While there will be clouds at high and middle altitudes coming from the remnants of Helene, most of New England will remain dry.
There’s a small chance of a scattered shower in southwest Connecticut on Sunday, but the rest of the region should stay clear. Helene’s more substantial moisture will stay far to our south, so there’s no need to worry about significant rain from that system.
Saturday night will be cool, with lows around 50°F for most, and by Sunday, we’ll be enjoying temperatures near 70°F, with a gentle breeze off the ocean keeping coastal areas a bit cooler.
We’re closely monitoring Hurricane Helene, which continues to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico. Helene is expected to become a major hurricane by tomorrow, with landfall likely near the Florida Panhandle. Areas like Tallahassee and St. George’s Island are preparing for devastating storm surge, with levels predicted between 12 to 20 feet.
Helene will bring widespread flooding rains of 6-12 inches to the southeast, and wind damage could extend as far inland as Georgia and Tennessee. By Friday, tropical storm force wind gusts may even reach Illinois.
Fortunately, New England won’t be affected directly by Helene, though we’ll keep an eye on the storm for any developments.
The Topsfield Fair is just around the corner, and while showers may return around midweek next week, they should clear out in time for the opening day of the fair on Friday. Barring a major change, right now it looks like high pressure, a fair weather cell, will provide great weather overall for the first full week of the fair, with just some quick moving disturbances occasionally raising the chance for a scattered shower. The fair runs from October 4th to 14th, and first week right now looks to feature highs in the 65-70°F range and cool nights in the 50s.
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As always, you can find the latest weather updates on our website at 1DegreeOutside.com or through the 1DegreeOutside Weather app, available on the App Store and Google Play.
