Marathon Monday weather good but breezy
Rain and sun ahead
Runners won’t need their raincoats until well after the race, but a breeze may slow their overall times during today’s 126th annual Boston Marathon.
“Monday we’re gonna have bright sunny skies, highs in the lower 50s with a north wind near 5 mph to start, but by the afternoon the wind will swing out of the east and blow about 10 to 15 mph,” Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the Herald Sunday.
The wind will shift into the faces of marathon runners between 11 a.m. and noon, Dunham said. The last wave of nonelite athletes will begin their run at 11:15 a.m.
A 10 mph wind could slow a runner an average of 12 seconds per mile, according to research.
Over the course of a 26.2-mile marathon that could mean a difference of over five minutes.
After the marathon, a coastal system over Narragansett Bay expected to develop late tonight will bring rain to much of the commonwealth — and snow to some parts. That weather is expected to last most of the day Tuesday. Dunham said heavy winds could be expected, with gusts up to 50 mph possible.
Temperatures Tuesday are expected to reach the low 50s before the storms move on in the afternoon.
“A coastal storm will bring widespread rain Monday night into Tuesday morning with accumulating wet snow likely across parts of the interior high terrain of Massachusetts, especially the Berkshires,” the weather service forecasted.
Wednesday will see the return of mostly clear skies and drier weather as warming spring conditions prevail with highs in the upper 50s but cool winds, Dunham said.
Thursday and Friday Massachusetts is expected to see highs into the 60s and partly sunny skies, with a slight chance of showers Thursday night into Friday morning.
As of this point, the weekend is expected to be warm and dry, with more 60 degree temps and partly sunny skies, Dunham said.