The final day of July leads us into the weekend and the beginning of August. In the fast-paced world of seemingly flipping the calendar quicker and quicker, the final month of meteorological summer is now upon us.
I would argue that the biggest event this weekend is the Pan-Mass Challenge, with the race starting at the College of the Holy Cross and not Sturbridge for the first time in 45 years. The good news is that the weather is going to fully cooperate. Early August can bring high humidity, high temperatures, and even severe weather, but none of those elements are in the weekend forecast.
If you’re starting your weekend early, Friday looks mostly dry, although there is the chance for a sprinkle in the afternoon. Temperatures will be approaching 80 degrees. In terms of sky conditions, it will be variable but trending towards more sunshine, especially over inland areas farther away from a departing storm system.
Saturday-Sunday
Readings are going to start in the low to mid-60s both Saturday and Sunday morning, with afternoon highs between 80 and 85 over Southern New England and between 75 and 80 over Northern New England. There’s virtually no chance of rain over the weekend, and folks enjoying outdoor activities will need to worry about sunscreen, not umbrellas (unless it’s for the beach!).
There will be a southerly flow of air keeping dew points in the low to mid-60s, near average for early August — not dry per se but also not that excessive humidity we can often experience.
After the heavy rain this week, some freshwater ponds and lakes will be a bit cooler than they were at the beginning of the week, but the sunshine should warm them back up.
Ocean temperatures remain in the lower to mid-60s heading toward Cape Cod before reaching the upper 60s to lower 70s over the islands and the southern half of the Cape. This is typical for early August. And the temperatures continue to be cooler than average over Northern New England: in the upper 50s to lower 60s along the coast of Maine down through the Seacoast of New Hampshire.
Weekend breakdown
Greater Boston: Look for sunshine both Saturday and Sunday with morning temperatures in the upper 60s and afternoon highs between 80 and 85.
Central and Western Mass.: Plenty of sunshine both days this weekend with highs within a few degrees of 80 and morning lows in the 62 to 66-degree range.
Southeastern Mass.: There will be plenty of sunshine this weekend with highs in the upper 70s to near 80 but morning lows in the 60s.
Cape Cod and the islands: Temperatures over the weekend will range from the mid-70s over the outer tip to around 80 as you get near the canal. There will be plenty of sunshine for the entire area.
Rhode Island: It’s a good beach weekend with sunshine and temperatures in the upper 70s in South County and lower 80s to the north, along with mostly sunny skies.
New Hampshire: It’ll be in the 70s over northern parts of the state and lower 80s over the southern half this weekend with sunshine. Temperatures in the morning will be in the 50s to the north and 60s south.
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