With temps heating up, could Mass. see a break from the rain, thunderstorms this weekend?

Sunshine on Saturday may have to wait, as clouds could gather and bring another round of rain showers and possible thunderstorms later in the day.

Before Friday wraps up, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for southwestern Franklin and northwestern Hampshire counties, covering Northampton, Hatfield, Williamsburg, Goshen and Plainfield, among other communities.

At 5:46 p.m., Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms had produced heavy rain in the area, with between 1 and 2 and a half inches of rain already fallen. Between 1 to 2 inches of more rain are possible, with flash flooding already ongoing or expected soon.

“Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles,” the warning read.

The warning will be in effect until 8:45 p.m.

The weekend

A high-pressure system over the Gulf of Maine is expected to move south through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. As it moves, isolated showers and thunderstorms could materialize Saturday afternoon, though the risk of these reaching the level of severe is limited.

Locally heavy downpours are possible, with 1 and three-quarters of an inch of precipitable water likely during the afternoon timeframe, forecasters said.

Across the major cities, the timing of any rain or thunderstorms varies. Springfield has a slight chance of seeing wet conditions after 11 a.m. and before 8 p.m. Worcester could see rain and storms between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and Boston could see these conditions also after 3 p.m. By the evening, skies should be mostly cloudy but dry.

Most of the state, with the exceptions of southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape and Islands, could see lightning, while northwestern Massachusetts has a chance of seeing excessive rainfall, forecasters said. However, they added that these chances are limited.

Daytime highs are expected to be in the mid- to high 80s, while the Cape and Islands could see temperatures lower in the high 70s, forecasters said. Overnight lows should drop down to the low to mid-60s.

“Sunday overall looks to have a similar theme weather-wise as does Saturday, with mainly dry weather for most of central and eastern portions of Southern New England…,” forecasters wrote.

They added that parts of the Berkshires and the hills in Litchfield County could also be most susceptible to rain showers and thunderstorms, but Western Massachusetts and Connecticut as a whole should see less rain and storm coverage.

Springfield should be party sunny all day, whereas Pittsfield and Great Barrington could see rain and thunderstorms develop by the afternoon, forecasters said.

To the east, conditions should be either partly sunny or cloudy, forecasters said. Highs should be mid- to high 80s, though humidity is expected to be on the rise.

Temperatures continue to increase going into next week, possibly getting close to 90 degrees by Thursday, forecasters said on X. Heat advisories could go into effect with heat indices possibly leaving conditions feeling like the 90s or 100s.

Weaker thunderstorms could start to appear on Monday, but generally dry conditions might stick around for the rest of the week, forecasters said. It remains unclear if periodic rain and thunderstorms make a comeback during the Tuesday through Friday timeframe.