Sunny skies in store
The last weekend of astronomical summer will be a pleasant one, as a high pressure system moves into place over the northeastern United States. Today will be a bit chillier than normal, as a sea breeze develops in the afternoon, bringing cooler air from over Massachusetts Bay, where sea surface temperatures are currently around 60°F (16°C). Tonight will be especially chilly, as clear skies and calm winds allow the land surface to efficiently radiate heat away, bringing temperatures down to the middle 40s (°F) early tomorrow morning. However, winds will shift to be from the south tomorrow as the high pressure begins to lift and a cold front approaches from the west. These southerly winds will bring warmer air up to New England, raising the temperature to near 70°F (21°C) tomorrow, and several degrees higher than that on Sunday. Expect a chance of showers on Sunday night, and temperatures returning to the 60s (°F) in its wake at the beginning of next week.
Sunday’s warm weather will be especially pleasant in comparison to that of September 21, 1938, when the Great New England Hurricane swept across the region as a Category 3 hurricane. That storm, which had sustained winds of 115 mph and resulted in over 600 fatalities, remains one of the worst storms ever to strike New England.