Rhode Island Weather: Sunny But Cold Soon; More Rain Coming On Thursday

Weather Forecast Discussion for Rhode Island on October 25, 2016

A quick moving low pressure system brought some showers and light rain over Rhode Island early Monday morning. But, by the time we started the morning commute, the sun was shining once again. We received almost an inch of rain this weekend, which helps the drought conditions. We have another chance at seeing rain within the next five days.

High pressure in central Canada is helping to give us this sunshine. But, cooler air due to an upper-level trough being over the eastern U.S. will be the talk of our weather the next few days. We will see normal temperatures for highs on Monday, with clear skies and temperatures falling into the upper 30’s tonight. By tomorrow, we will have breezy conditions, as winds come from the northwest. High temperatures Tuesday will barely make it to 50 degrees. Some areas may reach freezing tomorrow night, despite a few clouds in the sky. Lows overall will be in the lower to middle 30’s.

We will keep sunny skies into Wednesday, as the ridge axis of that high pressure system moves towards New England. Winds will be lighter, but high temperatures will once again barely reach 50 degrees. We remain under the ridge Wednesday night, with partly cloudy skies and lows falling into the middle 30’s. By Thursday, the high pressure ridge begins to break down, as a low pressure system passing the eastern Great Lakes brings increasing clouds through the day. We will begin to see some showers by the mid-afternoon, with heavier rain possible by the start of the evening commute. Temperatures will struggle once again to reach 50 degrees, due to the limited sunshine. Rain will continue Thursday night, and may be heavy at times. With southerly winds, low temperatures will be milder, with the mercury only falling into the middle 40’s.

Rain will taper to showers through the mid-morning on Friday, before ending by noon. High pressure ridging behind the low will bring some partial sunshine before sunset. Despite winds switching back to the north, high temperatures will be near 60. We will see partly cloudy skies Friday night, with lows in the lower 40’s.

As we head into Saturday, the computer models both agree that a quick moving low near the area of Alberta, Canada will push east. Although the European and American model disagree on the timing of the precipitation, we have the chance for some showers by 5 p.m. and last into Sunday morning. We would then see increasing sunshine through the afternoon. Look for highs to reach the lower to middle 50’s Saturday, with lows in the middle 40’s. High pressure builds towards the eastern U.S. on Sunday, giving us mostly sunny skies with highs in the upper 50’s. Looking ahead to Halloween next Monday, the ghosts and goblins will have great weather for trick-or-treating, with mostly sunny skies during the day with highs in the upper 50’s. Look for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the lower to middle 50’s during the peak hours of 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for getting candy.

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.