June's off to a steamy, and possibly stormy, start but a long stretch of mild weather should soon follow. A cold front is dividing the state in two today. Everyone east of, say, Syracuse or Binghamton is basking in a soupy, tropical, air mass. We're looking at a high close to 90 in the city this afternoon. Behind the cold front Buffalo will be lucky to reach 70 today. With the heat and humidity and the big change in air masses we are likely to see afternoon or early evening showers and thunderstorms in the city. Some of those storms could be intense, as the National Weather Service has just issued a tornado watch for NYC, as well as Nassau, Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Putnam Counties until 8 p.m. tonight.
Once the cold front passes a cool, dry Canadian high pressure system will sit over New York and New England for several days. Tomorrow and Friday will both be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70s. Some humidity may creep back into the picture as a weak cold front crosses the region. As of now there is a slight chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday. Both days are expected to have highs in the upper 70s.
Thanks to a warm last eight days, the average temperature for May was nearly two degrees above normal. The first five months of 2011 were half a degree warmer than normal. That may not sound like much but it boosts 2011 into the top quartile of warmest starts to a year despite the really cold January.
