The three day weekend ahead will feature some idyllic autumn weather with plenty of sun for outdoor activities if you’re heading out of town on a getaway. The only blemish in this otherwise stretch of superb weather will be a round of showers and thunderstorms entering the city Friday afternoon and passing through Friday night.

Rest of today – we’re starting off with mostly cloudy skies, but skies should clear rapidly within the next couple hours. After that, we get a mostly sunny afternoon with high temperatures near 70. Clouds re-enter the picture later this evening in advance of an approaching disturbance that will bring us rain on Friday.

Friday – overnight tonight, a warm front will push through the area, such that by Friday morning, winds will switch to the southwest. This will allow for warm air to surge up ahead of a cold front that will be passing through Friday night. This setup is favorable for the possible development of thunderstorms ahead of the cold front. Chances for rain increase steadily Friday into Friday night. Otherwise, mostly cloudy skies with high temperatures in the upper-70s to near 80.

Saturday – the cold front moves quickly through the area Friday and by Saturday, skies should clear up, while temperatures cool off into the mid-60s.

Sunday – another picture perfect autumn day with high temperatures in the mid-60s and ample sunshine.

Monday (Columbus Day) – stretch of nice weather continues into Columbus Day, with temperatures slightly warmer in the upper-60s to around 70.

Drought Update

The drenching rains two weeks ago helped alleviate drought conditions over large portions of the Northeast. However, moderate drought conditions stubbornly persist in the NYC metro area, especially in Long Island.