Technical Discussion - WFSB 3 Connecticut

Technical Discussion

Good Thursday evening!

***A FLOOD WATCH is in effect for Litchfield County through Friday morning*** 

We have a lot of weather to talk about as we head into a long holiday weekend.  First of all flooding is the more immediate concern.  Showers and thunderstorms have produced very heavy rainfall across northern and western portions of the state this afternoon and there is more to come.  A cold front will push into this very humid air mass tonight and tomorrow morning and that means the threat of heavy rain will continue statewide.  The front will move off the New England Coast during the day tomorrow, but low pressure will develop offshore in response to some vigorous jet stream energy.  That means we can expect more showers and possible thunder throughout the day tomorrow.

The coastal storm will intensify and slow down Friday night and Saturday as a cutoff forms in the upper regions of the atmosphere.  That means we can expect more rain through the beginning of the holiday weekend.  Additionally, northerly winds will intensify across the state and it will be turning much cooler.  Temperatures probably won't rise out of the 50s during the day Saturday.  So much for the unofficial start to the summer season!  

Showers could linger into Sunday morning, but weather conditions will improve during the afternoon as the coastal storm slowly moves away to the north.  Skies should become partly sunny, but it will remain blustery and cool with morning lows in the 40s and afternoon highs in the 60s.  Memorial Day is still the pick of the weekend with plenty of sunshine and highs between 70 and 75 degrees.  Very nice! 

A warming trend will kick into gear next week.  Temperatures are expected to rise to near 80 degrees by Wednesday and possibly to near 90 degrees by Thursday.  A couple of showers and thunderstorms are possible on Wednesday as the warmer air moves in and we may end the week with more showers and thunder. 

The forecast from NOAA for the upcoming hurricane season came out today and they are expecting a very active season.  Officially, the hurricane season begins and June 1^st and it ends on November 30^th.  NOAA is forecasting 13-20 named storms.  A normal season sees 12 named storms.  They are expecting 7 to 11 hurricanes.  A normal season sees 6 hurricanes.  Of those 7 to 11 hurricanes, 3 to 6 of them are expected to become major hurricanes of category 3 intensity or greater.  A normal season sees 3 major hurricanes. 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Chief Meteorologist Bruce DePrest