There’s a threat of tornadoes today as a cold front slowly works its way through our area.  The risk is low, with the Storm Prediction Center putting our chance at 2%. That’s the lowest chance (besides 0) on their daily risk map. We hardly ever reach the 5% threshold. 

The reason for our severe storm chance today is a cold front that will stall on top of us late this afternoon into the evening hours. We should have a couple of hours ahead of the storms with sunny skies that will allow potential energy to build. 

There looks to be just enough shear to mean we can’t rule out a quick spin up or two. Our tornado risk is low.

Looking at the overall severe weather chance, I open up the window for severe weather at around 2 p.m. and keep the window open through midnight. The front will arrive as what we call a short wave, which should arrive along I-80 at 2 p.m., and the line of storms will slowly work its way to the south. 

Storms that fire along the line, though, will be racing east. This means conditions can change rapidly. Any storm cells could have gusty winds and even some small hail. Frequent lightning should be expected with just how fast they’re going to be moving. Downpours should also be expected, but unless we see storms training over the same area, our flood risk looks fairly low today.

While we wait for the storms, the weather is going to be surprisingly comfortable. 

I have dew points in the low to moderate range all day long. It’ll be sunny heading into the afternoon. I have highs hitting the low 80s with comfortable weather in place through at least 3 p.m. in Pittsburgh. 

Morning temperatures dipped to the low 60s, with noon temperatures expected to be in the mid 70s.

Similar to today, most of Friday is expected to be dry. There will be another chance for rain on Friday, but rain doesn’t arrive until after 8 p.m. Friday highs should hit the upper 70s. Friday’s rain will stretch into Saturday morning, with rain continuing overnight and most rain ending before sunrise. 

I can’t rule out a scattered shower or two for the rest of the day on Saturday, but it’s looking pretty nice and dry. I have Saturday’s high hitting the low 80s, with highs going up to the mid-80s on Sunday. The area’s first heat wave of 2026 is now expected to arrive on Tuesday. 

I have highs in the 90s from Tuesday next week through at least Friday, with temperatures never dropping below 70° during that time period.

A prosecutor said Cole Werhan, the man charged with murdering a Duxbury, Massachusetts woman inside a Connecticut home, has several open domestic violence cases.

Police say Werhan killed 26-year-old Janina Brooke Murphy inside the Burlington, Connecticut home where she was living. Murphy was found at the bottom of a staircase on March 29, but no charges were filed until Tuesday.

Werhan was arraigned Wednesday in Torrington Superior Court in Connecticut. The judge accepted the prosecution’s request to continue holding Werhan on $5 million bond.

Murphy and Werhan were dating, the woman’s mother said. Beth Murphy told WBZ-TV that a detective said her daughter had wounds “all over her” and police were investigating her death as suspicious.

“It’s just been the worst time of my life as you can imagine,” Beth Murphy said. “He killed my baby.”

In court Wednesday, the prosecutor said Werhan is an “extreme danger to the community.”

Werhan currently has four domestic violence cases with different victims in each, the prosecutor said.

On June 3, Werhan was arrested in one of those cases. He was able to post the $750,000 bail and was released with an electronic monitoring device. Werhan has not been convicted of any crimes.

One of the alleged victims told police in an interview that he hit her, strangler her, and threatened to kill her multiple times.

His defense attorney argued that the $5 million bond was “simply not affordable,” and asked instead for $1 million bond. The judge sided with the prosecution.

In arguing for lower bond, Werhan’s attorney argued that he has always appeared in court for each of his cases and should not be considered a flight risk.

Werhan is next due to appear in court on June 30.

Lindsay Bolduc was a close friend of Murphy’s. Bolduc said Werhan and Murphy met playing video games online, and later moved in together.

“Crazy to think about the pit in my stomach I had. I just knew something was wrong,” Bolduc said.

Bolduc said she doesn’t only want people to remember Murphy as a victim.

“I just want people to remember that Brooke was a person, you know? She was so much more than this. She wasn’t just a victim,” she said.

Three tornadoes have been confirmed across New England so far in 2026, and remarkably, all of them have occurred in Vermont.

Two of those tornadoes touched down during severe thunderstorms on June 18, when a potent weather system swept across the region.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Lincoln with peak winds of 105 mph and another EF-1 tornado in Woodstock with winds reaching 100 mph.

Earlier this spring, an EF-1 tornado struck Williamstown on April 16 with estimated winds of 90 mph.

This week’s Climate Chronicles question comes from Kate:

With severe weather last week, how often do we actually see tornadoes touch down in Maine?

Maine tornado activity (WGME).

Historically, Maine averages about two tornadoes each year, with most occurring between June and August.

Most storms develop during the late afternoon and early evening, typically between 3 and 9 p.m., when hours of sunshine have heated the ground and created the instability needed for thunderstorms to form.

The last confirmed tornado to touch down in Maine was in 2023.

Average amount of tornadoes that touch down in each New England state per year (WGME).

Massachusetts and Connecticut also average about two tornadoes per year, with many occurring across the flatter terrain of western portions of both states.

In Massachusetts, the broad Connecticut River Valley stretching through Springfield has earned the nickname “New England’s Tornado Alley” due to its history of tornado activity.

Vermont, on the other hand, typically averages just one tornado annually. With three confirmed tornadoes already in 2026, the state has already exceeded its yearly average by two, making this an unusually active year for tornadoes in the Green Mountain State.

Maine’s tornado history (GoSanAngelo, WGME).

Since 1950, Maine has recorded 140 tornadoes. None have been rated stronger than an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the system used to classify tornado intensity based on the damage they cause.

Unlike hurricanes, tornadoes are not assigned ratings while they are occurring. Instead, National Weather Service survey teams assess damage after the storm has passed, examining impacts to homes, buildings, trees, and other structures.

From that damage, meteorologists estimate the tornado’s wind speeds and assign an EF rating ranging from EF0 to EF5.

While Maine has experienced its share of tornadoes over the decades, the state has never recorded a violent EF4 or EF5 tornado.

Do you have any weather questions? Email our Weather Authority team at weather@wgme.com. We’d love to hear from you!