The weather forecast for the next 5 to 7 days looks so wonderful it makes me nervous. You might think what would make you nervous about sunshine and dry weather? There are two things. First, this time of year having a full week of no rain isn’t good. We are going to finish April with a rain deficit and this will be the second of the first 4 months of the year without adequate moisture. While the landscape is greening, it won’t take too long for drought to rear its ugly head. I probably get overly concerned about the rain, but as a gardener that’s where my head goes.
The second reason is that when we get these dry patterns in early spring, they can end up resetting themselves later in the spring or early summer with a prolonged period of damp/cool weather. While we don’t know if this will happen, the fact that the atmosphere is always trying to achieve balance means that at some point it’s going to get wet again.
Speaking of balance the number of tornadoes this year has been remarkably low. So far in April there have been fewer than 75 tornadoes and if that number stays under 100 for the rest of the month, it will be the first time that this has happened in two decades. To put this in perspective, April normally sees about 187 tornadoes. Back in 2011 there was a whopping 758. This fact ties in with my point about balance. The atmosphere is a constant state of flux and these wild swings are just part of what is “normal”.
Let’s look at the details of the next week. The biggest challenge to the forecast will be temperatures along the coast. Water temperatures are in the 40s and if the wind comes off that water it’s going to knock temperatures back 10 or more degrees. So while Sanford, Bridgton, even Rumford might be in the middle 60s, Portland, Brunswick and Kennebunkport might be 55F.
If you are headed to the coast for any outdoor activities it might be a good idea to have a light jacket handy. Temperatures along the coast will tend to reach the maximum in the early afternoon and then fall back if a sea breeze kicks in. There is a good chance these sea breezes with be a factor Saturday before weakening early next week. There will certainly be several days where high temperatures make a run at 70F inland for many of you.
This evening a little pool of cold air is going to pass through the region. When cold air moves over the ground this time of year it creates perfect conditions to pop off a quick shower. Since this is the case there is the risk of a quick shower this evening, but I expect skies to end up generally partly sunny through sunset.
This weekend looks nearly perfect for late April with wall to wall sunshine and mild temperatures in the middle and upper 60s. While much of the western part of the country has seen record snow, rain and cold April 2013 for New England is going out on one fine note.
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