Weekend Weather Preview
This weekend will feature heat and storminess in the Midwest and Plains, as the Western U.S will see dry weather set in.
Saturday
A rainy day will be in store across the Southeast, including Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Frequent showers and storms will be on the menu with threats of flash flooding and a few damaging wind gusts. Most of the activity will stay confined to the coastline with rainfall totals in the 1 to 2 inch range.
The Midwest and central Plains will have multiple shots at storms from sunrise through well after sunset. It's possible that a few lines of storms will move through in the morning with flash flooding and damaging winds as the main concerns. As these storms fall apart, new storms will form in the afternoon with similar hazards and will pack more of a punch in the wind department. It's likely that these will last well into the night.
A low-pressure system will slide eastward in southern Canada and provide showers to the northern Plains and Rockies. Light to moderate rainfall accumulation is expected.
While the southern Plains will be torching with heat, a couple isolated thunderstorms are expected, especially closer to the High Plains in Colorado and New Mexico.
The western third of the U.S will be dry and hot, especially the farther south you go.
The Ohio Valley, Mid-South, and eastern side of the southern Plains will also be on the dry side of things. The Northeast can also be included except for a low chance of showers in the interior.
The highest terrain of the Rockies will see 50s. Portions of the northern Rockies and extreme northern Plains should expect 60s. A cooler period continues in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and central to southern Appalachians with 70s and 80s.
The Pacific Northwest and northern Plains will also see this mix of 70s and 80s. Eighties will be common in the Northeast, Midwest, northern Great Basin, southern Pacific Coast, and along the Gulf Coast. The Ohio Valley, Mid-South, Four Corners, interior California, and central Plains will find 90s. Triple digits are expected in the southern Plains and Desert Southwest as well as 110s possible in the most extreme Arizona and California deserts.
Sunday
A weak cold front will traverse southeast from the northern Plains into the central Plains and Midwest. This cold front will spark thunderstorms from Colorado to Lake Michigan. Flash flooding and severe wind gusts will be the greatest concerns with this activity.
North of the cold front, cooler temperatures and drier humidity will be in place for the northern Plains, Upper Midwest, and northern Rockies. A few passing showers may occupy the northern Plains but will not have much impact.
Gusty storms will be a common sight on Sunday in the Southeast. A few damaging winds accompanied by isolated cases of urban flooding are possible. Scattered pockets of 1 to 3 inches of rain are expected with some locations not seeing a drop of rain. These will be true hit or miss storms.
A couple of showers will be likely in the Upper Northeast, but the rest of the Northeast will be dry with heat in the upper 80s and lower 90s. Likewise, a few showers are possible in the high terrain of the Colorado and Wyoming Rockies. Light rainfall accumulation is expected.
The Ohio Valley, northern Mid-Atlantic, Mid-South, and most of the Southern Plains will be dry and particularly hot, as will almost the entire western third of the U.S., which will be torching hot with no rain expected.
Temperatures in the 50s and 60s are expected in the higher terrain of the Rockies. Seventies will be likely in the upper sections of the northern Plains and Midwest. The Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Pacific Coast will see 70s and 80s.
The Northeast, lower elevation Pacific Northwest, and central to northern Plains will see a mixed bag of 80s and 90s. The Ohio Valley, Mid-South, southern Plains, Gulf Coast, Four Corners, and interior sections of California should expect 90s. Hot 100s and 110s will be found in the Desert Southwest and lowest elevation central to northern California.