United States

It's 5 O'clock somewhere! (Image by Photos.com)

An area of high pressure moving in from the Midwest will settle in and stall over the Eastern states, keeping rain out and sunshine in for days through the Father's Day weekend.

Clouds and showers affecting New England will be kicked out to the east by Thursday as dry air expands.

In fact, this is likely to be the nicest stretch of weather (through Sunday) of the unofficial summer season in New England so far.

The result will be day after day of sunshine, right through Sunday in most locations from the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic coast into New England.

The pattern will actually be a squeeze play between a zone of showers and thunderstorms over part of the Upper Midwest and a developing offshore storm in the Atlantic.

It appears much of the East will be "in the zone" of fair weather.

The next few days will feature low humidity and cool nights.

Over the weekend, intense June sunshine will continue to work on the air mass and will send temperatures well into the 80s over the interior.

Folks heading down to the shore (area beaches) will find an afternoon sea breeze holding temperatures in the lower 70s.

Ocean water temperatures continue to run warmer than usual for the date.

As of Friday, June 15, surf temperatures range from the lower 70s along the Delaware, Jersey and Maryland beaches to the 60s along the Long Island Sound and the upper 50s on the Maine coast.

Only if the storm were to back westward from the Atlantic would patchy clouds and showers spoil a weekend day at the beaches.

As temperatures climb, there is a remote chance of a late-day, pop-up thundershower over the mountains. However, even in these few locations that manage to get a downpour, most of the time will be rain-free.

Overall, though, the atmosphere looks to be rather stable and not conducive for thunderstorm development.

Even in portions of the Deep South, the rain will trail off as a flow from the north and northeast brings in dry air. The exception will be right along the southern Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches, where some sudden downpours can crop up.

This story was originally published on Wednesday, June 13, 2012.