Ahead of an approaching cold front Wednesday, Albany is expected to break its second high temperature record of the past week as temperatures soar well into the 70s. This front will produce scattered, hit-or-miss shower activity this afternoon into the early evening, but we do not expect much rainfall - most won't even see a tenth of an inch. Cooler, and eventually more seasonable conditions build into the upcoming weekend.
In addition to the record warmth, winds will be gusty out ahead and behind the cold front, with gusts up to 30 MPH possible. Couple those factors with the recent dry spell and it means an elevated fire risk is active across the entirety of our region, but is amplified for Massachusetts and Connecticut. Red Flag Warnings are in effect there today.
Temperatures will climb well into the 70s, some 20-25 degrees or so above normal. All signs point towards Albany and other major climate sites in our region breaking daily high temperature records.
We will start to cool things down tonight, but the process will be gradual. Low temperatures tonight will dip into the upper 40s and lower 50s, with partly cloudy skies.
A drier, somewhat cooler day is on tap for Thursday. With increasing sun, high temperatures will climb into the upper 50s and lower 60s, still roughly ten degrees above normal.
More seasonable temperatures will continue to build and bright skies will persist Friday and Saturday. Even by Saturday - with highs in the upper 40s and lower 50s - that is still seasonable for this time of year!
Shower chances increase late Sunday and particularly into the first part of Monday. While this is a more widespread rain chance, rainfall amounts don't look to change our status quo of abnormally dry and drought conditions around the area. Temperatures rebound into the lower 60s Monday despite the rain chances. Drier, slightly cooler weather lies ahead for Tuesday with highs back in the mid 50s.
