Here's how much rain New England may get this weekend — and where to expect the most

Tropical Storm Ophelia is now officially a named storm off the Carolina coast, the National Hurricane Center said Friday afternoon, and is forecast to move northward this weekend.

Tropical Storm #Ophelia Advisory 5A: Cyclone Becomes Tropical Storm Ophelia. Tropical Storm Conditions Continuing Across Coastal Portions of North Carolina. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 22, 2023

Ophelia becoming a named storm has no bearing on our forecast though, which is for areas of rain and cooler temperatures this weekend.  The storm center will slowly work through eastern North Carolina Saturday and the Delmarva Peninsula on Sunday — and then pass south of us heading into early next week.

The clouds we’re seeing across the region Friday are a part of this system, and are coming well ahead of the rain. We don’t anticipate the torrential kind of rain and severe weather that was experienced this summer in some cities and towns — but rather a longer duration, steady rain which will thankfully reduce our risk of flooding.

Expect rain to arrive along the South Coast Saturday morning, and make slow northward progress during the day, to near the Mass. Turnpike around noon and the Mass., New Hampshire border by late afternoon. The heavier elements will be focused in southeastern Massachusetts during the afternoon and evening.

The wind will ramp up a bit too, gusting out of the northeast 35 to 45 mph on the Cape and Islands by Saturday evening and overnight. Sunday doesn’t appear to be as wet: pockets of lighter rain and periodic showers will move through with highs in the low 60s.

Northern New England will be more removed from this system with a lower chance of rain.  Some rain will likely linger into the day on Monday, although exact timing and intensity is still uncertain. Either way, it looks like a 1-to-3-inch rain event through the start of next week with the highest totals on Cape Cod.

The remainder of next week looks fairly tranquil with brighter skies by Tuesday and milder air by the end of the week into next weekend (low 70s) as seen in our exclusive 10 day forecast.