High pressure wedging in from the northeast made for a much cooler day on Wednesday — the high only reached 77°, the coolest high since 76° on May 31 — and we’ll keep that going into Thursday. Winds kick up a bit more Thursday as low pressure begins to spin up offshore, tightening the pressure gradient across the area. There could be some showers within the wedge at any point during the day, but nothing too out of control by any stretch. The main hazards will be a risk for coastal flooding at times of high tide. The 6:40am high tide could touch 7′ MLLW, producing some minor flooding in the most vulnerable locations. The evening high tide, which peaks around 7:10 PM, will run more than a half-foot higher, with moderate coastal flooding expected. Be ready for road closures downtown during the second half of the commute.
The first legitimate shot of cooler air of the season begins to build in on Wednesday as high pressure starts to wedge into the area from the north. It’ll bring with it some breezy conditions and an elevated risk of coastal flooding that will last into at least Friday.
Low pressure aloft will drift northward into our neck of the woods on Tuesday, which should help kick up a little more in the way of showers and thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon and evening. It’ll be another warm and muggy start, with lows in the low to mid-70s across the area to start the day. Some guidance suggests storms appear possible near the coast to start the day, moving inland with time as the seabreeze pushes inland. The main concerns will be the potential for isolated flooding due to heavy rain from slow-moving storms and the risk for storms to produce strong wind gusts.
The week ahead gets off to a hot, humid, and unsettled start, but by the end of the week, temperatures will be more befitting of — if not a few clicks below — what we’d expect from late September.
Summer is far from finished with us yet. After a couple days with relatively drier air and slightly cooler temperatures, we’re back to the 90s on Friday as surface winds swing around a little more westerly than we’ve seen the past few days. It should be a mostly sunny day, though clouds will increase later in the day with the potential for a shower or two to potentially migrate in from the north late. At least we get off to one more seasonable start as lows take one more trip to the mid-60s before a stretch of 70s lows kicks off Saturday.
Another warm mid-September day lies ahead for Thursday as high pressure remains the dominant weather feature at the surface and aloft. We’ll get off to another pleasant start with lows in the upper 60s warming to the upper 80s in the afternoon with dewpoints in the mid-to-upper 60s away from the coast, where dewpoints will settle in the 70-72° range. Dry air in the atmospheric column will make for mostly sunny skies, with just a few passing clouds expected.
