The pesky disturbance which brought us such “drippy” weather the past 36 hours is finally drifting away from the New England coast. Weak surface high pressure will nose into the region to give us one beautiful early fall day on Friday. There should be plenty of sunshine with temperatures well into the 60s and approaching 70. Unfortunately, Saturday looks pretty much like a “washout” as a strong cold front at the leading edge of a “digging” trough in the jet stream wave pattern moves slowly through the county. There will likely be rain for a good part of the day as a fairly wide band of rain and showers, being generated by the heavier, much cooler air behind the front lifting the lighter, relatively warm, moist air in advance of the front, moves through. Rain should develop sometime during the morning, most likely mid to late morning. The rain and showers will continue on and off, but mostly on, before tapering off during the late afternoon to early evening. The strong temperature contrast will generate considerable “lifting”, and there is plenty of moisture available to be lifted, so we will likely see significant rainfall accumulations, on the order of 0.50″. As the cooler air rushes in behind the front, temperatures will plummet into the low 40s Saturday night. There will likely be a mixture of sun and clouds, with more sun than clouds on Sunday, as high pressure starts to build in from the southwest, but it will remain cool, despite the sunshine, with temperatures maxing out in the 50s during the afternoon.

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy this evening, becoming mostly clear after midnight.

Low temperatures in the low 40s.

Light easterly winds.

Friday

Mostly sunny and mild.

High temperatures upper 60s in Pittsfield, Lee, Stockbridge, Adams, North Adams and Williamstown; near 70 in Great Barrington and Sheffield and; mid 60s over the elevated terrain.

Light southeasterly winds in the morning, increasing to 5-10 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night

Mostly clear in the evening. Becoming mostly cloudy after midnight with a chance of a light rain shower toward morning. Probability of precipitation 30%. Little or no rainfall accumulation expected.

Low temperatures near 50.

Southeasterly winds at 5-10 mph.

Saturday

Cloudy and cool, with rain or showers developing during the morning and continuing for a good part of the day, tapering off during the late afternoon or early evening. Probability of precipitation near 100%. Likely rainfall totals around 0.50″.

High temperatures in the mid to upper 50s in Pittsfield, Lee, Stockbridge, Adams, North Adams and Williamstown; upper 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and; mid 50s over the elevated terrain.

Southeasterly winds at 5-10 mph, shifting to northwesterly late.

Saturday Night and Sunday

After some lingering early evening showers, clearing and turning cooler Saturday night, with low temperatures in the low 40s. A mix of clouds and sun on Sunday, with more sun than clouds, but cool. High temperatures averaging in the mid to upper 50s, with some low 50s over the elevated terrain.