Currently in Boston — August 29, 2023: Heavy rain possible Tuesday night

The weather, currently.

More tropical air will arrive during Tuesday. Some showers will develop and some of these could turn into heavier downpours and thunder Tuesday night. Temperatures will be in the middle '70s on Tuesday and the upper 70s on Wednesday. Some areas could receive enough rain to cause some urban street flooding once again. A cold front will move offshore Wednesday night. This will allow cooler and dryer air to arrive for Thursday and Friday before a warm up takes place this weekend. Temperatures by the end of the weekend should reach near 80 and there's an outside chance of 90° weather by Monday Labor Day.

— Dave Epstein

What you need to know, currently.

Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to make landfall early Wednesday morning as a major hurricane, just north of the Tampa Bay metro area.

For context, the Tampa Bay region has been incredibly lucky over the past 75 years, so even a glancing blow from a major hurricane could produce a record-setting coastal flood.

Idalia will be tracking over record-warm ocean waters in the Gulf of Mexico, made warmer due to the burning of fossil fuels — which is part of why it's expected to be a major hurricane at landfall in Florida on Wednesday.

Every time there’s a hurricane disaster, this needs to be said, so I’ll say it again now: Climate change is making hurricanes worse.

Sea level is rising, making storm surge worse. Ocean temperatures are rising, making rapid intensification more likely. The air is warmer, which means it can hold more water vapor and rain harder.

Climate change is making hurricanes worse.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

The fires in Maui have struck at the heart of Hawaiian heritage, and if you’d like to support survivors, here are good places to start:

The fires burned through the capital town of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the ancestral and present home to native Hawaiians on their original unceded lands. One of the buildings destroyed was the Na ‘Aikane o Maui cultural center, a gathering place for the Hawaiian community to organize and celebrate.

If you’d like to help the community rebuild and restore the cultural center, a fund has been established that is accepting donations — specify “donation for Na ‘Aikane” on this Venmo link.