5 Things You Need to Know Today: Friday, Oct. 19

Here are five pieces of information designed to give you an early start to your weekend and to help make you the smartest leaf-peeper on the Mohawk Trail.

1. Your Local 3-day Weekend Weather Forecast: According to the NWS, today will feature showers, mainly after 10am. Patchy fog before 1pm, then Patchy fog after 2pm. High near 66. East wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

• Friday Night Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Patchy fog. Low around 58. Southeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
• Saturday Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 9am, then a chance of showers. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 70. South wind 5 to 9 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
• Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 45. West wind 7 to 11 mph.
• Sunday Sunny, with a high near 61.
• Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 44.

2. Reader Comment of the Day: "There is a mail box with the number six on it sitting on the ground in front of 1451 Whipple Road." Reader Bob C, commenting on the story,

3. It's Happening Today: Pumpkin Decorating Contest: Pumpkin Drop off at the Tewksbury Public Library. Drop off your pumpkin Friday or Saturday to enter the Pumpkin Decorating Contest for ages 3 to 12. Pumpkins may NOT be carved; decorated only!  Voting for pumpkins will be either in person or online through our blog at http://librarypumpkincontest.blogspot.com beginning on Monday, Oct. 22. Winners announced on Friday, October 26th.  Everyone gets a prize!

4. Quote of the Day 1: "The way to get this economy going again is to stop the bickering in Washington, get together, put a plan in place and allow the small business community to create jobs."

4A Quote of the Day2: "If you take the speculators out, the estimates of all the experts who've been testifying in front of us is that you'd cut at least 60 cents a gallon, and that's a good start." Incumbant Congressman John Tierney (D-6th District) talking about gas prices at that same debate.

5. It's Happening Today, Part 2: The Tewksbury High Volleyball team is home vs. Lowell. The Redmen will be looking to push their record back to .500. Game time is 5 p.m. in the TMHS gym.

And Don't Forget: Keep track of the all of the frightful and fun Halloween events going on throughout the Merrimack Valley by checking out our Halloween Page! Click here!