Cloudy with an early pinch then sunny breaks with rising temperatures – CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) – For the first time in 124 years of history, the Boston Marathon will not be held in April. Until 1968, the marathon was held on April 19, Patriots Day. It was then moved to the third Monday in April and has remained there ever since. From a meteorologist’s point of view, that’s about ideal. October in Boston is accompanied by far fewer possible weather complications than April. I don’t have to tell any New Englander that April can be quite temperamental here.

Take a look at the history of the Boston Marathon:

87 degrees April 16, 2012
28 degrees April 19, 1926

And the last two Boston? We had a record 1.57 inches of rain in 2018 and 0.72 ″ of rain in 2019, along with nasty thunder and lightning.

Then there is the sea breeze in April, the water temperatures are freezing in the 40s. So any type of day with a relatively light wind and decent heating of the terrain and you could have a difference of 20 at 30 degrees along the Hopkinton to Boston road. Runners can literally experience two entirely different seasons along the 26 mile course.

In October, sea breezes are virtually non-existent with much warmer ocean temperatures. Earth’s extreme temperatures at either end are also less dramatic. For example, look at the recordings for October 11:

High record: 82
Record low: 32

These are about 5-10 degrees less extreme than typical marathon dates in April.

Essentially, in October there is really very little worry of a severe weather day with one exception, tropical systems. We just passed the peak of our hurricane season in October and there is usually always something to watch in the Atlantic or the Caribbean at this time of year. Of course, the odds of a Boston hitting on any given day are very low.

And that brings us to our first Boston Marathon in October here in 2021.

Let’s detail the details:

While Hopkinton may have clouds to start with fog early in the morning on Monday, Boylston Street could have a break from the sun by the end of the race. Even with a slight chance of showers at the start, most of the day should be dry. Temperatures will be mostly in the 60s. It may seem warmer for runners with sun breaks, and there may be some communities that are close to 70 degrees.

Hourly forecast Monday:

6:00 am: Hopkinton 55, Boston 59, mostly cloudy, NE wind 4-8mph
9 a.m .: Hopkinton 58, Boston 62, mostly cloudy, wind ENE 5-10mph
Noon: Temperatures 65-69, sunburn, E wind 5-10mph
3 p.m .: Temperatures 66-72, sunburn, E wind 5-10mph
6 p.m .: Temperatures 65-69, Pt. Sunny, wind E 4-8mph

Probably a little warmer than most runners would like, but it’s shaping up to be a great day for spectators!

If you are one of the thousands of runners this year, on behalf of the entire WBZ-TV weather team, I wish you good luck and good weather!

Follow Terry on Twitter @TerryWBZ