A Few Severe Thunderstorms Possible Saturday Evening
An approaching cold front will trigger showers and thunderstorms across New York State and northern New England during Saturday afternoon. Showers and scattered thunderstorms will continue to develop and move east across southern New England Saturday evening. A few thunderstorms Saturday evening may contain localized damaging wind gusts, mainly across CT as well as western and central MA. Although the time period of greatest risk for any severe thunderstorms will be during the evening after peak daytime heating, sufficiently steep mid-level lapse rates (6.5-7 degrees C/km) ahead of the approaching frontal boundary will likely enable thunderstorms to persist into the evening hours. Wind shear looks to be marginally strong enough to support a few organized thunderstorms or even short lines of thunderstorms capable of producing strong wind gusts. Thunderstorms will likely weaken as they move east and southeast of Worcester County where instability and wind shear look to be less. The Storm Prediction Center has placed CT as well as western and central MA in a “slight risk” area.
At least most of the daytime hours on Saturday should remain dry for outdoor activities across southern New England. The main risk for showers and thunderstorms looks to be 6 to 10 PM across western MA, 7 to 11 PM across central MA and CT, and after 8 PM for eastern MA and RI.
The main severe threat will be damaging wind gusts. In addition, there could be some localized very heavy downpours. Monitor the latest information from the National Weather Service for any statements and warnings. Keep in mind that all thunderstorms contain potentially dangerous lightning. If feasible (e.g., not camping): when thunder roars, go indoors.
An upper-level trough accompanied by wrap around moisture is expected to produce scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms on Sunday (mainly during the afternoon), although severe weather does not appear likely on Sunday.
Next Message
The next message will probably be the significant weather weekly outlook to be issued Monday June 8. In the meantime, monitor the latest forecasts and any warnings from the National Weather Service.
About this Blog and Disclaimer
The National Weather Service monitors the weather 24/7 and updates forecasts, watches, and warnings as necessary. For most of southern New England, refer to your local Weather Forecast Office for the latest forecast/warning information at weather.gov/box. For information from other Weather Forecast Offices, go to weather.gov and click on the location of interest on the map.
The frequency of this blog will depend upon the nature of the weather threat and availability of the author. Thus, for the latest information on weather forecasts and warnings, refer to the National Weather Service, which monitors and forecasts the weather 24/7.
Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center (BHOSC)
The BHOSC maintains a continuous daily observation record that dates from February 1, 1885 without interruption and provides educational information on weather and climate to area students and the community at large. Your support of BHOSC is much appreciated and enables this nonprofit organization to maintain the long-term climate record at the Blue Hill Observatory (longest continuous record in North America) and provide valuable educational resources on weather and climate via outreach to schools, site visits/tours, webinars, and conferences. For more information on the Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center, explore bluehill.org.
Message issued June 5, 2026 by:
Bob Thompson
Retired National Weather Service Meteorologist
Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center Board member
