Weather for New England and the Northeast

A sunny, cool autumn afternoon is underway across Southern New Hampshire, with high pressure keeping skies clear and conditions dry. Current temperatures are 52 degrees in Keene and 56 degrees in Nashua. Abundant sunshine has made for a pleasant fall afternoon, although temperatures are running cool, especially in the more elevated and interior areas.

Temperatures will drop quickly after sunset, with mostly clear skies and overnight lows expected to reach the 20s in many locations. No precipitation is expected, and quiet weather should continue into Wednesday. If you are heading out this evening or early tomorrow morning, be sure to dress warmly, as temperatures will approach freezing or fall below it in some areas.

Weather models have consistently suggested that a wetter pattern could develop as November begins. This is the period to watch for the next opportunity for more substantial rainfall after an extended stretch of mostly dry weather. The timing and coverage of any rainfall remain uncertain, so future forecasts will help clarify how likely a more widespread rain event will be.

Some Pumpkin Help.
How do you know when it’s time to carve your pumpkin? Now that we’re under the two-week mark until Halloween, it’s a pretty natural question to ask. And I think that, for many of us, the answer is that we carve our pumpkins when we have free time, quite possibly on the weekend before Halloween. Which, it turns out, can be fine, or it can be a recipe for scary (but not in a good way) jack-o-lanterns.
Here’s the deal: Pumpkins are extremely hardy when they are intact. But once we start gouging holes in them and ripping out their innards, a whole new chemistry starts taking place. As the moist inner walls of pumpkin flesh get exposed to the elements, a lifespan of months gets reduced to just a few days. And how fast that happens comes down to the weather.
In cool, crisp autumn air, bacteria and mold move slowly, and a carved pumpkin can hold up for five to seven days (up to 10 in ideal conditions). But when it's warm and humid, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s or higher, pumpkins can soften and grow mold in a hurry. If that's your forecast, wait until a day or two before Halloween to carve, or bring your pumpkin indoors during the warmest part of the day.
Rain and freezing temperatures are the other things to watch. Heavy rain or dew can make the bottom and cut edges rot quickly, and a hard freeze can turn the flesh to mush once it thaws. The solution? After you’ve carved your masterpiece, keep an eye on the hourly forecast, and bring the pumpkin in for the night when either rain or freezing temps threaten.
Finally, if you really want to take care of your jack-o-lantern, here are a couple of pro-level tricks you can try. 1: Sanitize by wiping the inside and cutting the pumpkin’s edges with a diluted bleach-and-water solution to kill mold spores. 2: Seal the edges by rubbing vegetable oil or petroleum jelly on the cuts to lock in the pumpkin’s natural moisture. 3: Instead of a candle, which will dry out and cook the inside of the pumpkin, try using a battery-operated LED tea light instead.
Good luck, and may your pumpkin look fresh and perfect on its big night!

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On this day in history:
On this day in 1682, William Penn arrived in his new colony of Pennsylvania, where he laid out Philadelphia. By the American Revolution, it was the largest city in the 13 colonies.