18 September 2023

Weekend Weather Outlook


Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee will bring tropical trouble to eastern New England this weekend, while multiple cold fronts create soggy, stormy weather in targeted areas of the U.S.

Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee will draw closer to the Northeast and the Canadian Maritimes today. It will make landfall this afternoon over southwestern Nova Scotia. Rain will be likely throughout eastern New England, with the heaviest rain occurring in Maine during the afternoon and evening. Breezy to strong winds will also be expected, highest in Maine and along the eastern New England coast.

Two cold fronts will impact the U.S. for the start of the weekend. One front will be stalled across the southern Plains into the Gulf Coast and Southeast. The other front will be digging south through the central Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley, Midwest and Great Lakes. Rain showers and some rumbles of thunder will be found along both fronts throughout the day. Some gusty thunderstorms cannot be ruled out in the afternoon and evening. There could also be some torrential rain and localized flooding.

High pressure will control the weather over the western half of the U.S. There could be an isolated shower or thunderstorm in the southern Rockies due to some remaining monsoonal moisture. Otherwise, dry and quiet weather will be found from the Rockies westward to the West Coast.

Highs will be in the 60s and 70s for the central and southern Rockies, northern and central Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes, Midwest, Ohio Valley and Northeast. However, temperatures will only reach the 50s in the tallest elevations of the Rockies along with interior New England. Highs in the 80s and 90s will be found across the rest of the U.S., including the Northwest, California, Great Basin and northern Rockies as well as the southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The Desert Southwest will also experience triple digit heat.

The remnants of Hurricane Lee will quickly move to the northeast farther into the Canadian Maritimes on Sunday and rain and breezy winds will quickly come to an end across Maine in the morning.

Saturday’s cold front will push south and east across the entire eastern U.S. for the conclusion of the weekend. Rain showers and thunderstorms will be found along and east of the Mississippi, with the best chance occurring in the afternoon and evening. Slow-moving, repeated rounds of moderate to heavy will be possible, especially across the Tennessee Valley, Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic. This could create some localized flooding. Some strong to severe thunderstorms are possible in eastern North Carolina.

Some moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will flow into the far southern Plains and southern Rockies. Rain and thunderstorms will be found across southern Texas throughout the day, spreading into Arizona and New Mexico later in the day.

Meanwhile, a new cold front will push into the Northwest. There will be limited moisture associated with this cold front, so only a few showers are possible in western Washington, western Oregon and northern California.

Dry weather will be found across the rest of the Rockies and Plains along with most of the Mississippi Valley thanks to areas of high pressure overhead.

Temperatures will generally be in the 70s and lower 80s across the northern half of the nation, with some pockets reaching the upper 80s to 90s in the Pacific Northwest. A few spots will see the mercury only climb into the 50s to low 60s, including the higher elevations of the Rockies and the Appalachian Spine. Expect 80s and 90s for the Southern Tier, with 100s again in the Desert Southwest.

No comments: