WEATHER BLOG: Warm Holiday Weekend

The weather pattern in the Northeast and across much of the mid-Atlantic region for the remainder of this Labor Day Weekend will be dominated by a large high pressure system… Yesterday's temperatures were mostly in the mid 80s, but these will be creeping up later today and especially tomorrow. The axis of the ridge of high pressure, which currently has an east-to-west orientation, is expected to eventually consolidate over the western Atlantic Ocean.

So, a wind which will be light and mainly out of the south today will become more southwesterly tomorrow and Tuesday, allowing somewhat hotter and more humid air to engulf most of the Eastern Region. Due to the resurgence of hot and sticky air, the temperature in a handful of cities will reach the lower 90s tomorrow (Labor Day). After that, many others will follow suit on both Tuesday and Wednesday.The next two days will also feature lots of sunshine, and our chances for seeing any rain around here through midweek will be very slim.

Previous discussions have pointed out that 'heights will begin to fall' in the East on Wednesday — which is another way of conveying the message that high pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere will start to break down, and slightly colder air aloft will penetrate the area, especially near the Appalachians. Therefore, if you were to play "devil's advocate", it would be worth mentioning that a few instability-driven showers and thunderstorms could develop on Wednesday afternoon. But this precipitation will probably form over the higher terrain of upstate New York, Pennsylvania and western New England, only to promptly 'fall apart' shortly after nightfall without ever reaching the I-95 or the immediate coastline. With the sun angle being somewhat lower during the second week of September (and setting a bit earlier), the possibility of a thunderstorm become strong or severe is rather small.

The next feature of significant interest to us, a cold front that should be poised to reach the East Coast later on Thursday or Thursday night, will bring most places a much better chance for getting some needed rainfall.