After a long, hot, humid weekend, relief will slowly come our way. But, it will take until the end the week.

Weather Forecast Discussion for Rhode Island on August 15, 2016

To quote the great female group Bananarama: “It’s a Cruel Summer.” Especially in the Northeast U.S., where this week has been the hottest and must humid in recent memory. Sunday was the worst day temperature wise, as T.F. Green Airport reached 96 degrees. Add on the relative humidity, and the “feel-like” temperature, or heat index, was 105 degrees. However, we did not have an official heat wave over the weekend, as the high temperature only reached 89 degrees on Saturday. The good news is we will see a cool down in our temperatures. The bad news is we will continue to see above normal temperatures as we move out of mid-August.

At the moment, a frontal boundary draped over New York and Pennsylvania is creating early evening showers and thunderstorms in the region. This activity will try to push east, but will dissipate between 9 and 10 p.m. So, western Rhode Island may see some activity before the precipitation dissipates. After midnight, expect partly cloudy skies with warm temperatures in the middle 70’s. Weak high pressure ridging will give us mostly sunny skies for Monday, but temperatures will be slightly cooler. It will still be muggy, but high temperatures will only reach the lower 90’s. It will still be less than ideal conditions, so please stay hydrated and take frequent breaks if you have to be outside for long periods of time. The ridge will begin to break down Monday night, as we await a warm front. We will remain under partly cloudy skies, with lows in the lower 70’s. The dewpoints will slowly rise Monday afternoon, due to southerly winds bringing moisture up from the Gulf Coast. Clouds will be increasing through Tuesday morning, with the threat of showers and isolated thunderstorms after 12 p.m. With overcast skies, our high temperatures will cool down into the middle 80’s. The low pressure center will remain over Northern New England, so we will see more scattered showers than a thunderstorm. The risk for showers continue into Tuesday night, as the cold front passes through after midnight. It will remain mild, as lows stay in the lower 70’s.

The low pressure center will be just moving into the Gulf of Maine Wednesday morning, allowing for the cold front to move through the region. The best chance to see isolated showers and thunderstorms will be in the morning hours. We will see partial clearing by sunset, which could spark a shower or two before dark. High temperatures are expected to be in the middle 80’s. Skies will begin to clear overnight, with the humidity dropping partially. Low temperatures are expected to be in the upper 60’s. Weak high pressure riding takes over on Thursday, allowing for mostly sunny skies. High temperatures are expected to reach the middle 80’s. We will continue to be influenced by the ridging Thursday night, as we keep partly cloudy skies. Low temperatures will fall into the upper 60’s.

The high pressure ridging will be slightly strengthened by another high pressure ridge, located near a high pressure center near Bermuda. It will give us mostly sunny weather for Friday and Saturday. Winds from the south-southeast will help cool our temperatures down to 84-86 degrees. Low temperatures will be in the middle to upper 60’s. The only day that the models are disagreeing with at the moment is next Sunday. The United Kingdom and American models develop a weak low off the coast of North Carolina on Friday. The low will slowly move up the coast, possibly bringing showers for next Sunday. The European model shows no low forming at all, and keeping us under mostly sunny skies. I am not sure if a weak area of upper level energy offshore will be able to keep the disturbance together. For now, I will keep partly sunny skies for next Sunday, with high temperatures near normal for the first time in several weeks. The mercury will only reach the lower 80’s.

Jim Laurie is a local meteorologist who earned a B.S. in Meteorology at Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, VT. Jim has fifteen years of professional experience, with eight years in the field of marine meteorology.