The cool and relatively quiet weather pattern over the eastern half of the country is forecast to become increasingly unsettled as the dry and very warm weather over the western half of the country continues.
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An Alberta clipper currently centered over the upper Midwest will continue its eastward journey across the Great Lakes.
Rainy conditions associated with this system is forecast for all of the Great Lakes through Friday.
Meanwhile, an upper-level trough interacting with the clipper is forecast to dig farther southeast toward the southern Atlantic states and then interact with another low pressure wave just off the coast of the southeastern U.S.
This complex mutual interaction in conjunction with yet another clipper system forecast to dive across central Canada toward the Great Lakes will result in a period of increasingly unsettled weather to expand across the eastern U.S., especially over the Northeast, as we head closer to and into the weekend.
Periods of rain associated with the first clipper will spread gradually across the interior portion of the eastern U.S. through Friday.
By Friday night into Saturday morning, Atlantic moisture associated with the coastal system is forecast to move up the East Coast and overspread New England with locally enhanced rainfall and possibly thunderstorms as well as strengthening and gusty winds.
In the meantime, showers and some thunderstorms associated with a cold front trailing from the Alberta clipper will spread from the mid-Mississippi Valley this morning and expand across the Southeast on Friday.
Meanwhile, an anomalously strong upper-level ridge is forecast to dominate much of the western U.S.
into the mid-section of the country, providing anomalously warm temperatures and dry conditions for these areas through at these the next few days.
High temperatures today will challenge daily records across numerous location over the western U.S. The record warmth is forecast to spread into Texas by Friday and into Saturday.
Farther north, the next clipper diving across central Canada will spread chilly rain and gusty winds into the upper Midwest by Friday and into Saturday. ■
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.