It has been the story of the summer…
The heat has been nothing if not persistent over the last few months.
Once again, we start off the workweek with a NEXT Weather Alert…
We expect high temperatures between 90-95 through at least Wednesday and perhaps for one final day on Thursday.
The heat won’t feel quite as oppressive this go around because the dewpoints will be fairly low until midweek.
The heatwave began Monday with most towns across central and eastern Massachusetts topping out between 90-92 degrees.
This makes 17 days of 90+ in Boston this year, already 3 more than the average and the most we have had in 3 years!
We are forecasting low to mid 90s again on Tuesday and Wednesday and, depending on how quickly a cold front moves through, we may nick 90 one more time Thursday.
This will be the third heatwave of the summer in Boston and the 4th in many other towns to the north and west of the City.
Here is a look at our forecasted high temperatures for the next two days…
If you are looking for relief, head towards the South Coast, Cape Cod and the Islands.
A southwest wind off the Ocean will keep temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s down that way.
As I stated above, the dewpoints are not nearly as high with this round of heat…at least not yet.
We will see a rise into the oppressive range later on Wednesday and Thursday.
Thursday also brings our best chance of any rainfall this week and we could certainly use a good shower or two.
Today marks the 10th straight day without any measurable rainfall in Boston.
Also of note…
One of the best meteor showers of the year is going to peak this week!
The Perseid Meteor Shower has a terrific history complete with some amazing shows. There have been years when as many as 100 meteors per hour were clearly visible.
The Perseids are pieces of debris and dust left behind by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Unlike many other meteor showers, the Perseids often take long and bright paths across our sky, making for some brilliant viewing. These very small comet “chunks” can reach speeds of 37 miles per second as the burn up in our atmosphere!
The show will peak late Tuesday night, and the weather conditions will be nearly ideal. Other than some patchy fog along the South Coast, the skies will be completely clear.
Unfortunately, the light from the waning, 86% -lit, gibbous Moon will make it difficult to see most of the meteors. All things considered, experts expect you may be able to see about 15 meteors per hour at best.
In order to increase your odds for maximum viewing, you should find an area with the least obstructions (trees/building) and as wide open a view of the sky as possible.
Also, find a dark location, away from any artificial light.
Finally, the peak hours will be between 1-5am Wednesday morning…so grab some coffee!
