Expect a short lull in the unsettled pattern before muggy air and showers return to wrap up the week.

THE FORECAST:

Today and Tonight: A clearing trend is expected for Wednesday with partly sunny skies and high temperatures in the low 70s. Perhaps the most noteworthy change will be drier, less muggy air thanks to northeasterly breezes of 5-10mph. Overnight will be mostly cloudy with lows in the upper 50s.

Up Next: Cloud cover and showers are expected to return pretty quickly on Thursday after a midday high temperatures around 76 degrees. Pockets of rain will roll across the area into Friday. Another system will bring some rain this weekend—likely Late Saturday into Sunday. While rain chances are in the forecast Thursday through Sunday, a constant rain is not expected and there will be some dry time for outdoor activities. Specific timing of the rounds of showers will become clearer as we move through the week.

THE SCIENCE: An upper level trough pulling away from the area will allow at least 24 hours of quiet weather. Some lagging low-level moisture behind the recently passed cold front may lead to a lingering cloud deck—especially in coastal areas on Wednesday. Northerly winds will allow drier air to stay in place through Thursday Morning with temperatures just a few degrees above normal. Clouds are expected in increase on Thursday in response to an area of positive vorticity advection moving in from the west. This disturbance in the flow will lead to some late day showers that carry into Friday Morning as well. Meanwhile, surface high pressure in the Eastern United States will allow winds to shift southerly again and bring moisture and warmer temperatures back into the region. Thus, as the next shortwave trough approaches on Saturday, higher dew points and temperatures should lead to more robust rain coverage and perhaps more thunderstorms as well. With the weekend energy, a surface cold front should be nudged through the area allowing a brief return to near normal temperatures of 70/50. If the wave and front can scoot through progressively, the second half of the weekend may end up dry with a bit more sun, but confidence in the forecast timing is low at this time due to the faster speed of these systems.    

 --Josh