Big weather changes are on the way.  It has been feeling fantastic lately.  The high temperature Friday at Bradley Airport was 74 degrees.  We’ll likely get close to 70 on today.

Beyond today, 2 big changes to discuss.

First, a big temperature change for Sunday.  Take a look at the difference this next cold front is going to make.  It takes us from near 70 to struggling into the 50s by Sunday afternoon.  Some towns do not get out of the 40s!  Also, factor in a decent wind gusting over 20MPH at times and that means we’ll have an even colder wind chill.

After the chill on Sunday, the big weather story turns to a stubborn area of low pressure which sets up shop across the northeast.  Our weather goes down hill on Tuesday with an increase in clouds and late showers.  We then can expect periods of rain and wind. Some of the rain could be heavy right into Friday.

Get the jackets and umbrellas ready for a changeable week ahead.

This photo is courtesy of http://www.foliagenetwork.com and shows the foliage as of October 6th. For a more updated report, please click here: http://bit.ly/1vNmcwp              

I wish I had a dollar for every email, Tweet or Facebook post I have received asking about this weekend.  There is a LOT going on.

This is a huge weekend for the state’s economy.  People will be off from school and looking for things to do.  It’s a huge wedding weekend (to take advantage of the fall foliage) and of course thousands of runners have been training for the Hartford Marathon.  That’s just a slice of what’s happening.

What can you expect?  As the title above says, rain will be an issue for one slice of the weekend.  For Marathon runners and spectators it looks to fall during Saturday morning.  This is a big weekend for the area wineries as well. The good thing about the wineries is that they can be enjoyed on a sunny or rainy day.

The computer data has been pretty consistent in bringing an area of low pressure by to our south Friday night into Saturday morning.

Forecast details: The two models above (The American Model – GFS (Left), The European Model – ECMWF (Right), show the 18z (early afternoon).  When it comes to the morning, both show a decent amount of rain.  Both show improvements for the second half of the day, but if you have plans in eastern MA or the Cape, expect the tapering of rain to be slow and linger for a good part of the afternoon.  It’s worth noting that the GFS model has the rain exiting a little more quickly.  There is support for this as well from the “ensemble” data, which is data that supports the models above.

The rest of the weekend looks OK.  However, another system will approach from the west and we could see showers by the second half of Columbus Day.

The weekend isn’t perfect, but if I had to choose THE best day, Sunday would be the day. Sunshine with temperatures in the 60s.  Enjoy the long holiday weekend!

Sunday’s high temperature was a record-breaking 87 degrees at Windsor Locks.  It was a phenomenal final weekend of September.

Right on cue, mother nature has found the switch to Autumn.

Over the next several days you will notice temps closer to the 70 degree mark.  Also, you’re noticing a lot of clouds and little sun.  We can thank an on-shore flow from the east for that.  There will be some much-needed shower activity as we head into the middle of the week.

A strong cold front heads our way for the weekend.  Saturday features wind and rain.  The timing on the wind and rain is still questionable. Could we salvage the a portion of the afternoon?  It’s possible.  The sun returns for Sunday (a decent breeze, too).

The picture above is a high temperature forecast from one computer model for Sunday afternoon.  Remember that strong cold front I talked about in the paragraph above? Yes, last Sunday it was shorts and t-shirt weather.  This Sunday, temps struggle out of the 50’s.  Get the apple cider ready!  Welcome to fall.