Drying Out For The Great Race

It was a wild night with downpours, gusty winds of 30-50 mph and spotty lightning and thunder. Sheets of wind-driven rain were occurring on my way into work around 2:30am. Here are some rainfall reports thanks to the Amateur Radio Skywarn Network of spotters:

Rainfall Amounts (2" or More):
Southington, CT: 2.82"
Simsbury, CT: 2.69"
Berlin, CT: 2.51"
East Hartford, CT: 2.53"
Marlborough, CT: 2.26"
West Hartford, CT: 2.14"
Manchester, CT: 2.05"
Woonsocket, RI: 2.11"
Sturbridge, Mass: 2.06"
Northboro, Mass: 2.00"
Webster, Mass: 2.39"
Mendon, Mass: 2.11"
Williamsburg, Mass: 2.37"
Eastford, CT: 2.60"
Hampton, CT: 2.63"

Rainfall Amounts (1-2"):
Danielson, CT: 1.57"
Greenfield, Mass: 1.44"
East Longmeadow, Mass: 1.09"
Coventry, RI: 1.88"
Richmond, NH: 1.45"
Cranston, RI: 1.09"
Westerly, RI: 1.17"
Narragansett, RI: 1.00"
Hillsborough, NH: 1.37"
Peterborough, NH: 1.18"
Hollis, NH: 1.27"
New Boston, NH: 1.66"
Hudson, NH: 1.53"
Manchester, NH: 1.13"
Litchfield, NH: 1.25"
Nashua, NH: 1.53"
Rindge, NH: 1.35"
East Bridgewater, Mass: 1.19"
Norton, Mass: 1.49"
Berkley, Mass: 1.55"
Taunton, Mass: 1.12"
Braintree, Mass: 1.28"
Waltham, Mass: 1.19"
Arlington, Mass: 1.14"
Medford, Mass: 1.04"
Watertown, Mass: 1.28"
Wrentham, Mass: 1.51"
Plainville, Mass: 1.26"
Sharon, Mass: 1.19"
Wellesley, Mass: 1.32"
Randolph, Mass: 1.19"
Medfield, Mass: 1.57"
Medway, Mass: 1.71"
Walpole, Mass: 1.55"
Milford, Mass: 1.86"
Auburn, Mass: 1.76"
Easthampton, Mass: 1.25"
Ipswich, Mass: 1.20"
Boxford, Mass: 1.23"
North Reading, Mass: 1.08"
Wayland, Mass: 1.34"
Tewksbury, Mass: 1.35"
Framingham, Mass: 1.30"
Westford, Mass: 1.71"
Littleton, Mass: 1.65"
Wellesley, Mass: 1.22"
Concord, Mass: 1.63"
Lowell, Mass: 1.21"
Weston, Mass: 1.34"
Bolton, Mass: 1.98"
Royalston, Mass: 1.30"
Berlin, Mass: 1.91"
Leominster, Mass: 1.71"
Holden, Mass: 1.54"
Gardner, Mass: 1.39"
Ashburnham, Mass: 1.32"
Barre, Mass: 1.57"
Charlemont, Mass: 1.20"
Scituate, Mass: 1.20"

Plymouth County and Cape Cod received much less rain than the above amounts. Although the swath of widespread rain has shifted well offshore, there will be a few spotty showers shifting eastward from NY and western New England the rest of the day. So expect a changeable sky of passing clouds and some sunshine with a brisk southwesterly wind at 10-20 mph. There is a slight risk of a shower over Fenway Park this afternoon as the Red Sox host the Jays at the 1:35pm game. Temperatures will top out in the lower 60s most places. With the approach and passage of a cold front and upper level disturbance this evening, the scattered showers may become more widespread briefly followed by clearing later at night. Tonight's Full Pink Moon will be most visible after midnight when temperatures will fall to 40-45 degrees.

For tomorrow's reenactment of the Battle on Lexington Green and other events for Patriots' Day, the weather should be cooperative for the most part but a shower cannot be completely ruled out. Starting out early in the day in Lexington, it will be in the 40s with a rise into the 50s at Hopkinton through the staggered start times of the Great Boston Marathon. WBZ is the only station providing full coverage of the historical event starting at 8am. As the runners approach Boston, the temperatures will max out near or a bit over 60 degrees during the first half of the afternoon. There will be a tail wind blowing at 10-15 mph with a few gusts to 20 mph through most of the race course. Plan on some sunshine yielding to clouds with a slight risk of a shower.

Looking ahead, a frontal boundary strung out just south of the region will be the culprit in creating lots of clouds releasing times of passing showers Tuesday and Wednesday. If the warm front lifts north of Boston on Wednesday, it could turn much warmer with highs near 70 or so. However, presently, it appears that the front may run into resistance and stall out somewhere across CT and RI. Consequently, I will postulate 50s for now. As a storm tracks down the St. Lawrence River Valley, it will drag a cold front across the region Wednesday night. In its wake,  a zone of high pressure will build into the Northeast delivering partly to mostly sunny weather on Thursday and Friday with highs mainly in the middle 50s. The next batch of rain is destined to arrive probably next Saturday.

I will post a fresh update early this evening.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend and GOOD LUCK to all the runners!