Currently in Boston — July 7, 2023: Hot and humid

The weather, currently.

Look for warm and muggy conditions overnight with temperatures only near 70 by morning. Inland areas reached the lower 90s today with the heat index near 100 for a while. As we head into Friday look for sunshine followed by increasing clouds temperatures near 90 well inland and in the 80s at the beaches. Looking ahead toward Saturday a blend of clouds and sun will be the rule with highs in the '80s along with plenty of humidity. There may be a shower in the afternoon. And the same forecast for Sunday with an inland shower in the afternoon but more in the way of clouds.

— Dave Epstein

What you can do, currently.

The climate emergency doesn’t take the summer off. In fact — as we’ve been reporting — we’re heading into an El Niño that could challenge historical records and is already supercharging weather and climate impacts around the world.

When people understand the weather they are experiencing is caused by climate change it creates a more compelling call to action to do something about it.

If these emails mean something important to you — and more importantly, if the idea of being part of a community that’s building a weather service for the climate emergency means something important to you — please chip in just $5 a month to continue making this service possible.

Thank you!!

What you need to know, currently.

On Thursday, researchers at Colorado State University released an updated seasonal hurricane forecast for the Atlantic, boosting their outlook to 18 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes — all of which are well above long-term averages.

The forecasters cite record-warm ocean temperatures as the main reason for the worse forecast. “Most of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic now has record warm sea surface temperatures,” they write, which they anticipate will offset the effect from El Niño, which typically creates stronger upper-atmospheric winds that can complicate hurricane formation.

The forecasters give this helpful note to remind coastal residents to start making their hurricane season plans now:

Climate change has boosted the odds that any given hurricane will reach Category 3 or greater, the most destructive type. Six of the past 7 hurricane seasons have had more hurricanes than the long-term average number of hurricanes per year.

—Eric Holthaus