Visible satellite imagery at 630pm 9/17/11

Today was defined mostly by the presence of mid level clouds, which got in the way by the late morning after a few hours of bright sun to start the day.  These clouds developed in response to a mid level disturbance, which moved from west to east from the Ohio Valley, towards the Mid Atlantic, and then offshore today. Although our area was spared the precipitation, the clouds definitely got in the way of what would have otherwise been a pleasant and sunny day. Instead of sun, mostly cloudy skies prevailed and some showers scraped the New Jersey shore. They may scrape long island as well through the evening. Generally though, over the next several hours, these clouds are expected to thin and move east and offshore. This should set the stage for a relatively calm and pleasant evening, with partly cloudy skies and cooling temperatures. The lack of clouds and light winds should allow for good radiating, and temperatures will drop again into the lower 50's in the metro area. In the interior, temperatures should again fall into the mid to upper 40's.

THE FORECAST...

Through Tonight: Mostly cloudy early, then becoming partly cloudy overnight. A chance of showers on the NJ shore and Long Island early, then becoming partly cloudy there as well. Low temperatures dropping into the lower 50's in the metro area, and the mid to upper 40's. Winds light and out of the northeast. We'd recommend long sleeves and probably a sweatshirt.

Sunday: Again the possibility of clouds developing by afternoon, but there should be a few more hours of sun than on Saturday. Temperatures will rise into the low to mid 60's during the afternoon. Winds again northeast at 5 to 10 miles per hour.

Article written by John Homenuk, September 17th, 2011 at 6:31pm. Looking for a forecast? See New York Metro Weather's Long Range Forecast for the weekend and next week, or view our Technical Forecast Discussion for the more serious weather enthusiasts. Also, check out our new Forecast Overview tab. For up to the minute details on forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.