Generally quiet weather featuring plenty of sunshine and seasonable temperatures will bring us into Memorial Day Weekend as high pressure builds in at the surface for a couple days. Friday will start in the low-to-mid-60s and warm to the mid-80s in the afternoon with low humidity. It’ll still be a bit breezy, but not to the extent as we saw on Thursday.
A reprieve from the early-season stretch of 90° temperatures commences Thursday in the wake of a cold front. We’ll start the day noticeably cooler and drier than previous days, with lows bottoming out in the mid-60s as opposed to the low 70s. Highs will still run a little warmer than normal, but upper 80s will still represent cooler highs, especially on the heels of highs in the low 90s the past few days. Despite the warmer-than-normal temperatures, the lower dewpoints in the mid-50s will send relative humidity values down to around 30% or so during the day, so at least any sweat will have a chance to do its thing to cool you off.
The unseasonable warmth of the past week and change will draw to a close on Wednesday as a cold front approaches the area. We’ll start Wednesday in the mid-70s, warming to the mid-90s in the afternoon. There’s a chance for a storm or two ahead of the front, but it’s conceivable that many of us may not see any rain at all with this frontal passage. If a storm or two can get going, it could turn strong to severe, but the chances are very low.
Expect less in the way of cloud cover on Tuesday as the front that helped focus some shower and thunderstorm activity across the area on Monday meanders north and high pressure builds in aloft with plenty of dry, sinking air to be found. We’ll stay on the toasty side of normal for mid-May, with lows in the low 70s warming to the low-to-mid-90s in the afternoon. Dewpoints aren’t terribly out of control, thankfully, so heat indices won’t be too much of a factor, only running about 2-3° or so above the air temperature. That said, it’s still quite warm for this point in the year — the normal high for May 20 is 84°.
The week ahead starts with a continuation of the abnormally warm temperatures we’ve been feeling for the better part of the past week, though some relief is in sight as a cold front brings cooler and drier air to close out the week and head into Memorial Day Weekend.