It’s been one of the driest summers so far in the record books. While there’s a lot of time left for rain, the pattern continues to be anything but wet. Enter our weekend forecast and rain icons on your smartphone. If you take these at face value, you might think the weekend is going to be a washout, but with some careful planning and a bit of luck, you’ll be able to enjoy several hours of dry outdoor weather and dodge the raindrops.

If you have a three-day weekend:

If you are starting your weekend today, Friday, it’s looking like a day with a lot of clouds and a very low chance of an isolated shower. While this won’t be a great beach day, it also won’t rain in most areas.

If you’re going hiking, biking, or running:

Saturday is a mostly cloudy day. There may be showers in the morning and again late in the day and a steady rain overnight. The Saturday showers are hit-or-miss. You might go on a 5-mile run and get wet during a small portion of the run and notice other areas remain totally dry. It’s best to give the radar a quick look before heading out this weekend.

If you’re going beaching and boating:

The coast of Maine to the North Shore of Massachusetts and the New Hampshire Seacoast: This isn’t a beach weekend.  Cool air will keep temperatures in the 60s and with the chance of rain it’s not a great time to be at the beach.  The further north you go the better chance of showers and cooler temperatures.

High tides will be occurring between 10 and 11 this weekend in most areas Water temperatures are still chilly low 60s or 50s as you move north along the Maine coast.

Cape Cod and the Islands: Shower activity is limited across this area. It doesn’t appear there will be much rain throughout the weekend, although I certainly can’t rule it out.

If you’re playing soccer, softball, baseball, or golf:

Saturday’s forecast: For those areas which see any early downpours, mostly western and central New England fields will be wet. More showers during the day won’t let the grass dry. If your town does miss the showers, obviously the grass stays dry.

Sunday’s outlook: There is a chance of showers in the morning and then this chance diminishes. The best weather will be in the afternoon with the greatest chance of dry weather.

If you’re gardening:

A few of you have gotten some rain the past few days, but most areas haven’t seen a drop. Even where it has rained a bit, the drought is firmly in place. Watering is the most important thing you can do, especially for any plants that have been put in the ground during the past year.

If you’re running errands:

This is a great weekend to take advantage of the clouds and showers and do some of those chores that you might have been neglecting during the past three weekends of super weather. Saturday and Sunday morning are the periods with the most clouds and greatest chance of showers.

If you’re hosting or attending any outdoor event:

It’s nerve-wracking to be hosting an event and seeing showers in the forecast. Saturday events are most likely to be the wettest, but showers are still in the forecast for Sunday. All in all, this isn’t the best weekend for outdoor activity.

I will be updating the forecast on Twitter @growingwisdom throughout the weekend.

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