New England forecast: Showers and thunderstorms re-ignite

A front will spark showers and thunderstorms across Greater Boston and most of southeastern New England, mainly in the afternoon and early evening. Some heavy downpours are possible.

Storms peter out late in the evening with skies clearing a bit and the lows reaching the 60s and low 70s.

Active weather will continue on Thursday as a cold front continues to sag through the region, this time lingering over Southern New England versus the northwest as we saw on Wednesday.

Here’s what this means: We’ll see more clouds than sunshine on Thursday with a moisture-rich environment in place. The front will begin to lift warm, moist air reinforced by an area of low pressure to the south — prompting scattered showers and thunderstorms across Southern and Coastal New England throughout the afternoon as we near peak heating. Some showers may get going earlier in the morning, but they should be lighter than the afternoon.

Some showers may produce a few heavy downpours that could lead to a flash flood warning or two, but we should avoid severe thunderstorms. Just make sure to give yourself some extra time on the roads.

The scattered showers will begin to pop up across the region by late morning and could last through the afternoon.

The morning will begin with temperatures already in the 70s. With the cloud cover, highs will struggle to reach the 90s today, reaching the mid- to upper 80s nearly region-wide.

You’ll feel the thick air with tropical-like dew points present ahead of the front. You can see where the dry air is present across northwest New England, while the coast and Southern New England will experience higher dew points, which will fuel the storms.

As far as rainfall goes for Thursday, totals will be sporadic. Some areas will see as little as a tenth of an inch or nothing at all, while other spots may see repeated storms that dump nearly an inch of rain. Look for a band of the heaviest rain stretching from Southeast Connecticut through Rhode Island and across Southeastern Massachusetts.

With the atmosphere primed with precipitable water, there is a small, marginal risk for flooding from heavy rain on Thursday, concentrated from Southern Maine through Southeastern New England.

Greater Boston: Mostly cloudy with highs reaching the mid- to upper 80s with dew points near 70. Scattered showers and thunderstorms start later in the morning and last through the evening.

Southeastern Mass.: Mostly cloudy to overcast with highs in the low 80s near the coast, mid-80s inland. Feeling muggy. Showers and thunderstorms loom starting mid to late morning and last through the afternoon.

Central/Western Mass.: Mostly cloudy skies with highs reaching the upper 80s from Worcester to Springfield, low 80s in the Berkshires. Scattered showers and thunderstorms develop region-wide with lighter rain totals across the Berkshires.

Cape and Islands: Mostly cloudy skies with highs around 80 degrees. Chance for showers, mostly in the afternoon. A localized downpour is possible. More dry closer to the Outer Cape and Islands than the bridges.

Rhode Island: Mostly cloudy with muggy conditions in place. Highs reach the low to mid-80s statewide. Showers and thunderstorms are likely, mostly developing late morning and lasting through the afternoon.

New Hampshire: Mostly cloudy with highs reaching the mid to upper 80s. Feeling muggy. Showers and thunderstorms are possible, mainly across southern and coastal New Hampshire during the afternoon.

Vermont/Maine: Vermont should be the driest of all six New England states on Thursday. Highs reach the low 80s with more dry air in place. A mix of sun and clouds. A spot shower is possible in Southern Vermont. Coastal Maine will see highs push to the mid- and upper 80s under mostly cloudy skies with the chance for afternoon showers and thunderstorms. The interior is drier with highs in the upper 70s.

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Ken Mahan can be reached at ken.mahan@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @kenmahantheweatherman.