New England will remain between two systems on Saturday. A coastal storm will remain well offshore of New England and impact Nova Scotia. This system will send clouds into eastern New England and the very outer showers of this system may push into easternmost Maine through the day. The system to the west is a cold front that will drive through the region Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning.
This front will send showers into western New England in the afternoon before pushing eastward in the evening. A majority of New England will be dry for most of Saturday. The exception will be far western New England and far eastern Maine, who will be closer to the respective systems earlier in the day. Outer showers from the coastal storm will cycle through eastern Maine while the cold front will initiate showers across western areas this afternoon. The line of showers from the front will push east through the evening.
HRRR showing potential weather around mid-afternoon today (1st image) and this evening (2nd image):
This will be a non-impactful rain event as New England will be looking at a tenth to a half an inch of rain. The most rain will fall across western New England with amounts dropping off moving east as the line of rain breaks up and weakens. Impactful rain totals (1-3+ inches) will remain to the east and northwest of New England across Nova Scotia, Quebec and Newfoundland.
Weather Prediction Center forecast rainfall through Sunday:
The cold front will clear the region by Sunday morning. This front will bring fall-like air right back into New England with cooler temperatures and no humidity to speak of. Dew points will likely drop 15-20° from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Air temperatures will be cooler behind the front as well, and with a bit of a breeze, it may feel cool at times. Sunshine on Sunday afternoon will help temperatures rebound. Highs will be in the low 60s across the northern tier and higher elevations to the low 70s across southern New England.
While the feeling will be fall-like for much of New England on Sunday, a very cold air mass (by early September standards) will build aloft. This may bring winter-like conditions for the Green and White Mountains. The freezing altitude will drop to the 4,000-5,000 feet above sea level range for much of Sunday. With gusty winds, feels-like temperatures may drop into the teens and 20s at mountain summits.
ICON showing projected freezing altitude on Sunday around midday. This shows at what height above sea level (in feet) the temperature drops to 32°:
This can serve as a PSA for anyone planning on hiking a 4,000 footer on Sunday. There will be a sharp temperature difference from trailhead to summit and a very sharp difference from the valleys around New England to the summits.
Looking ahead to next week, another expansive ridge of high pressure looks to build for New England. This does look to last most of the week, similar to this past week. The high will begin south of New England and only slowly lift northward. The setup isn't quite as perfect as last week (a couple fronts may be around northern New England), but another dry, and very quiet week is expected.
One big difference with this upcoming week will be temperatures. The week will start off cooler before a gradual warming trend takes over. By late in the week, temperatures are looking to climb above average, with the potential for widespread 80s to return. As of now, the Climate Prediction Center gives New England a 60-80% chance of above average temperatures by midweek.
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