This week's weather: Drier times ahead

Jul. 25—The week ahead will still bring some rain, but not like we've seen the rest of the month, forecasters say.

Scattered showers are expected after 1 p.m. Tuesday and after 8 a.m. on Thursday. The rest of the week will be mostly sunny.

"We will be seeing some sunshine. More than we have been seeing most of the month so far," said Michael Clair, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.

"About every other day or so we are going to be having a front passing through, which will kick off some of the showers."

Monday and Tuesday will have seasonably warm temperatures around 85 degrees.

A front on Tuesday night will bring in a cooler air mass, Clair said. Temperatures will dip into the high 70s Wednesday and Thursday. The high on Friday is forecast to be 74 degrees, according to NWS. The average temperature this time of year is in the mid-80s, Clair said.

"A little bit cool, but at the hottest time of the year it is still fairly comfortable even if its cooler," Clair said.

As of Sunday, 11.03 inches of rain fell in Concord so far this month, which beat the record of 10.29 set in 1915.

The rain has kept the southern tier of the state out of a drought, according to NWS. There are moderate drought conditions across about 17% of the state — a 10% drop in the past week. About 3% of the state remains in severe drought across northern Coos County, a slight improvement from the week before.

The "abnormally dry" areas across the central part of the state remain unchanged.

Besides flooding reporting across the Monadnock Region, the rain has been mostly beneficial, Clair said.

"We've certainly seen a lot of rain and it has come down hard at times," Clair said.