Thunderstorms Likely on Saturday and Possible for Balance of Labor Day Weekend

As the unofficial end of summer is upon us, many are getting away to celebrate the holiday weekend across the United States. Here in the Northeast though, Friday looks to be the best day of the weekend. Starting on Saturday, the weather will begin to go downhill as an upper level low approaches from the Upper Midwest.

The Storm Prediction Center indicates that there were be a lot of available energy in the atmosphere on Saturday, but there won’t be a great deal of instability and wind shear to fuel severe storms with high wind and hail. The Weather Channel indicates that there will be an 80 percent chance of rain on Saturday and a 60 percent chance on both Sunday and Monday.

While much of the Midwest and Great Plains is still baking in the heat from the grip of a strong dome of high pressure, the Northeast has laid on the periphery of that high. Conditions have been warm and muggy with temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s along with dew points in the low 70s. So far on Friday, the temperature in Northwestern Middlesex County has been hovering in the mid 70s, but dew points are still in the upper 60s to near 70.

The muggy weather will provide the energy to create the possibility of storms this weekend. Will the stormy weather hold off for Saturday afternoon’s game between the Yankees and Orioles at Yankee Stadium? The forecast from the National Weather Service office in Upton, New York is calling for a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening. The probability will increase to 50 percent for Sunday. The chance of storms is expected to linger even into Tuesday.