The drought is expected to worsen, increasing the risk of dangerous wildfires in Massachusetts

BOSTON – New month, same old weather story. Warm and dry conditions are expected to continue for at least the first half of November.

Brush fire Concerns remain at the top of the headlines. Tuesday and Wednesday are forecast to be very warm and windy, and renewed red flag warnings are likely around southern New England.

Needless to say, anything and everything burning outside is a terrible idea at this point and should be avoided at all costs.

Both Boston and Worcester are still at or near the record for driest meteorological fall.

Other than a few sprinkles, this week is expected to be pretty much bone dry. Our next chance for any significant rainfall appears to be early next week.

We therefore expect the drought to worsen again this week. We’ll get an update from the Drought Monitor on Thursday and the percentage of both moderate and severe drought areas in Massachusetts could increase significantly.

For the third week in a row we will see a large increase in temperatures for a few days. The warmest days this week are Tuesday and Wednesday.

There is a good chance that records will be broken on Wednesday afternoon, with highs expected to climb well into the 70s.

Keep in mind that average highs this time of year are in the mid-50s.

Combine that with some very gusty winds in the coming days and you have a recipe for dangerous and fast-spreading wildfires.

Forecast for the Boston area

No weather problems are expected at the ballot box on Tuesday. Mild and breezy conditions all day.

Later this week (Thursday through the weekend) temperatures will return to near normal, but no significant rainfall is still expected. Looks like another very nice weekend.

Finally, we will monitor a new one Tropical depression this week. It is expected to become a hurricane (Rafael) on Wednesday and reach the Gulf of Mexico later this week. We’ll have a lot more about this in the coming days.