A chilly (frosty, for some!) morning gives way to afternoon high temperatures returning to the 60s for much of New England, though a fresh breeze will feel brisk in the North Country, where highs hold in the 50s. Tonight won’t be as cold and Noyes’ Notes tell us to be ready for a few showers tonight with some snow pellets mixed in up North, a windy start to Saturday, showers later Sunday and returning wind Monday that will yank some leaves down. It’s all in the video!
As we move into Friday, Hurricane Milton has exited the continental U.S., transitioning into an extratropical cyclone over the Atlantic. Despite Milton’s departure, elevated water levels and residual flooding remain a hazard for portions of the Florida Peninsula, particularly along the northeastern coast, where ongoing rain may exacerbate isolated flooding concerns.
Across the Northeast, a pleasant day Friday precedes an upper-level trough will drive showers through Upstate New York and New England Friday night, leaving gusty conditions Saturday morning, while a separate upper disturbance triggers scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Central and Southern Plains. A cold front, stretching from the Northern Plains to the Upper Great Lakes, will progress eastward, leading to rain showers in the Northeast and Great Lakes through Friday night into Saturday.
Meanwhile, the western half of the country remains entrenched in unseasonably warm weather. Highs are expected to reach 10-20°F above normal across the Northern Plains, Rockies, and Desert Southwest, with highs in the 90s for California’s interior and portions of Texas. The heat will persist as high pressure dominates much of the West, while a cooling trend arrives in the Northern Rockies by Saturday as a cold front moves into the region.
Looking ahead, the weekend will bring continued unsettled weather for the Great Lakes and parts of Northeast at times, with rain showers extending into early next week for some, while the Pacific Northwest sees increased chances for rainfall as an upper trough approaches.
In the Northeast, the lingering effects of an upper-level trough will bring spotty showers, predominantly in New York State, Vermont, and northern New England, through this afternoon. By evening, the focus shifts towards an approaching cold front from the Great Lakes. This front will usher in scattered showers across New York and New England overnight tonight, with the potential for some upslope rain or snow showers in the higher terrain of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, as well as an embedded North Country downpour with small graupel (soft snow pellets). Rainfall amounts will generally remain light, with most areas seeing less than 0.10 inches.
Ahead of tonight’s cold front, temperatures today moderate slightly, with daytime highs reaching the mid-50s to mid-60s, north to south. Winds will be relatively calm compared to earlier in the week, though some gusts up to 20 mph are still possible in more exposed areas, especially across eastern New York and western New England. Overnight lows will dip into the 30s and 40s north, but hover around 40 central and south as the cold front moving through brings increased clouds that will keep the temperature up from recent nights.
Looking ahead to the weekend, expect blustery conditions to return on Saturday, especially in the morning when some gusts may reach 35 to 40 mph before weakening during the afternoon. A secondary, stronger cold front will bring advancing showers from west to east on Sunday, possible in the morning west and more likely to hold off until afternoon east. Behind that disturbance, showers should exit Monday morning relatively early, but winds will linger and take down some leaves, with widespread westerly gusts of 35-40 mph. Mariners and aviation interests also need to watch for increasing winds on Saturday and Monday, when gusts could reach 30+ knots offshore.
