Kay weakened to a post tropical cyclone this morning, but is forecast to continue streaming anomalous moisture into southern California and the Desert Southwest as it continues to wobble its way farther into the eastern Pacific this weekend.
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Bands of heavy rain and thunderstorms moving through the Southwest may produce flash flooding, especially over areas with sensitive soils.
A slight risk of excessive rainfall is in effect for parts of interior southern California, southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona today.
High temperatures will remain below average while lows are above average this weekend thanks to the increased cloud cover from Kay.
The upper ridge responsible for record breaking heat across the West will shift east a bit in response to an upper low approaching the Pacific Northwest.
Both of these upper level features will combine to produce above average temperatures across the Northwest this weekend.
Fortunately, none of this warm weather will break records, but there's an elevated risk of fire weather.
Red Flag warnings are in effect for much of the Pacific Northwest.
An amplified trough will close off into an upper low over the Midwest this weekend.
This upper low and attendant surface cold front will be the focus for heavy rainfall from the Mississippi Valley/Great Plains today to the Upper Midwest on Sunday.
A slight of excessive rainfall is in effect for parts of southern Wisconsin on Sunday as a result.
A much colder airmass swoops through on the backside of the strong cold front, dropping temperatures 20-30 degrees below average over parts of the Central Southern Plains today before expanding into the Midwest and Middle Mississippi Valley on Sunday.
Unsettled weather will materialize along the base of the aforementioned upper trough today and continue into next week.
Shortwave energy is forecast to help transport a firehose of tropical moisture from the Southeast up into the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest for the next few days.
Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are the likely outcome across the region.
Slight risks of excessive rainfall are in effect for portions of the Central Appalachians down into the Carolina piedmont/tidewater as well as the Florida Gulf Coast today before the focus for heavy rain shifts into the Raleigh-Philadelphia I-95 corridor on Sunday. ■
A hyperactive weather pattern will bring an expansive low pressure system across mainland U.S., resulting in widespread impactful weather to progress from west to east across the country through the next few days.