After days of intense flooding In Florida, that state and many others are bracing for an intense heat wave, while the Pacific Northwest will see unusually cold weather and there is a chance of late season snow in the Rocky Mountains in Begining of the next week.
The chaotic weather map includes the possibility of severe thunderstorms developing between warm and cold fronts. Forecasters said colliding fronts could bring areas of flash flooding between eastern Nebraska and northern Wisconsin Saturday evening, as well as strong storms in parts of eastern Montana up to Dakota State. North and South.
Meanwhile, a plume of tropical moisture will reach the central Gulf Coast over the next few days, with heavy rain expected Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
“They’re all related,” said David Roth, a forecaster at the National Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. “This heat that will accumulate over the Midwest and Northeast is due to the fact that we have unusually amplified weather conditions for the month of June.”
A trough of low pressure in the Northwest brought scattered thunderstorms and hail to Seattle and other western Washington cities in the afternoon, and frost warnings prompted gardeners in northern Idaho to cover delicate plants for the weekend.
In Phoenix, temperatures reached 111 degrees Fahrenheit at 5 p.m. and are expected to climb a few degrees more. Lee Franklin, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Public Library, said more than 5,000 visitors have so far sought residence in the library’s cooling centers, including a new one, open 24 hours, at the library Burton Barr.
“We certainly see a need and utility for our heat relief efforts during these high heat days,” Franklin said.
Forecasters said the threat of heavy rain in Florida continues to dissipate, but some storms could cause local flooding given the already saturated ground. Some areas between Miami and Fort Lauderdale have been left underwater in recent days as storms dumped up to 50 centimeters in the southern part of the state.
AP correspondent Julie Walker reports that much of the United States is bracing for extreme weather, ranging from a heat wave to a snowstorm to flooding.
The damage unnamed storm system coincided with the start of hurricane season in early June, which this year is expected to be among the most active In recent memory, there has been concern that the change could increase the intensity of storms.
In much of the south of the country, temperatures rose on Saturday.
In Atlanta, where temperatures are expected to reach nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) on both days of the weekend, city officials opened a cooling center to provide relief. The city also postponed “Family and Friends Field Day” due to the heat.
And in the west Texas city of El Paso, Saturday’s high temperatures are expected to approach 105 F (40.6 C), and the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory through Monday morning for the region. The city has opened five cooling centers that will operate daily until further notice.
Although Arizona is entering its three-month monsoon season, when a change in wind patterns typically draws moisture from Mexico’s tropical coast, no rain is forecast for most of the week in come.
“No chance of rain statewide,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Ted Whittock, while noting that there is a 30 percent chance of showers in the southeast. ‘Arizona next Friday.
An atmospheric river of moist air is being funneled into the upper Midwest, causing an “unusual moderate risk of excessive precipitation” Sunday into next week in Minnesota, Roth said.
“They don’t experience heavy rain like this very often. We’re forecasting up to 7 inches in Minnesota – it can’t be understated how unusual that is,” Roth said. The last time the state had this much rainfall in one event was in 2008, he said.
In Tennessee, tens of thousands of revelers Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival braved a hot, sunny weekend to see more than 150 performances at the 700-acre agricultural campground and concert hall that hosts the annual event. As medical teams treated various heat-related conditions, some fans developed awning and tent combinations to create shade. Others had their sunscreen confiscated upon entry due to restrictions on full-size bottles and aerosol cans, The Tennessean reported.
Temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic and New England will likely peak in the mid to upper 90s next week, which is “nothing to sneeze at even in the middle of summer, and even less so in early summer,” the National Weather Service meteorologist said. » said William Churchill. High humidity will make the temperature even warmer in many places, he added.
Expected highs in the Northeast could set daily or even monthly records over the next few days, Roth said. Even northern Maine has a very low chance of reaching 100 degrees, he said.
“The town of Caribou in northern Maine typically counts the number of 80-degree days per year. The fact that they have a chance of reaching 100 is very unusual,” Roth said.
Last year, the United States had the most heat waves — Abnormally hot weather lasting more than two days — since 1936. In the South and Southwest, last year was the worst on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
While most of the country is on fire, parts of Montana have been placed under a winter storm watch with a chance of wet snow through Monday evening.
Churchill said the northwest cold front is linked to the heat wave because one extreme is often accompanied by the other.
Heavy rain and sporadic thunderstorms were expected in Western Washington through Saturday evening. In Edmonds, where an outdoor arts festival was taking place, the National Weather Service warned early in the afternoon that a stronger storm was brewing.
Hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts in the state’s Cascade Mountains and Montana’s Rocky Mountains were also likely to see snow at lower elevations than normal. The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather watch for north-central Idaho and western Montana from Sunday through Tuesday.
The agency warned of a risk of hypothermia and said backcountry roads could become impassable due to expected snowfall and possible downed trees and branches.
Up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of heavy, wet snow was expected in the mountains around Missoula, Montana, and up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) was predicted for higher elevations around Glacier National Park .