Although there have been a few showers the past 24 hours, we have not seen anything close to the amount of rain we need right now.  We can see more showers through this evening, but a general long duration event isn’t going to happen. 

The unsettled day is thanks to a storm system spinning in the atmosphere to our south.  The satellite image below shows the storm spinning around New York city.   This storm has enough energy and moisture with it to be pushing scattered showers into the area.   Eventually, later this evening the system will move east and north and the chance of showers will end.

Friday is looking like a very nice and summer-like day.  I am expecting plenty of sunshine and very warm temperatures.  Many towns are going to reach well into the 70s. 

The weather during the weekend becomes increasingly important from now through the fall so I will attempt to be as specific as possible about the details. Another system will move through the area Saturday. 

 

It appears to me that there are two rounds of showers with this system.  The first batch of showers will move through early in the morning.   Some of these showers could have heavy downpours.  We will just have to wait and see exactly how this all plays out.  The middle part of the day looks variably cloudy, warm and muggy with highs in the 70s to near 80°F.  Later in the afternoon and evening a second round of showers will cross the area.

So, what do you do about that golf game, soccer match or graduation?  I can’t yet give you the exact timing of the showers.  Area one may be done by 10 AM or  11 AM with a break of 6 hours before the next batch of showers.   I know the timing is critical for outdoor plans so I will have an update Friday.

 

The good news is that Sunday, Mother’s day is looking quite nice.  I expect drier air to be filtering into the region and the chance for any rain to be quite low.  Highs will be in the upper 60s to near 70°F and I do expect quite a bit of sunshine. 

 

As you probably know I am bit gardening nut.  I want to give you some tips about things to do this weekend in your yard or for container gardening. First, stay away from any impatiens this year.  Some folks reported New Guinea impatiens to be ok, but I recommend not planting them.  The blight will basically kill your plants very rapidly.  If we have a humid and wet summer, you can almost be assured they will die.  Begonia, browallia with true blue flowers, nasturtiums, nemesia, cape fuschias, plectranthus and snapdragons are great substitutes.  Personally, I like begonia and fuschias for shady areas. 

 

My second piece of advice is don’t rush into planting warm weather annuals or vegetables this weekend.  The weather looks quite chilly Tuesday morning. Some spots will be back in the 30s and while this might not kill your plants, it can weaken them and make them susceptible to problems. I would not be surprised to see frost from Sanford to Bridgton and up through the foothills.  By all means buy lots of plants this weekend, but keep them protected until after the chill of early next week.