A low pressure system currently developing over the Midwest is forecast to track across the northern Mid-Atlantic by tonight and intensify to a rather strong system for late May as it reaches New England on Saturday.
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A round of moderate to heavy rain along with increasingly gusty wind can be expected along the track of this low pressure system.
The highest chance of heavy rain will be across the Ohio Valley today and then into the northern Mid-Atlantic by tonight.
Some thunderstorms embedded within the rain can be strong to severe, possibly resulting in local areas of flash flooding.
The low is forecast to deepen further as the center tracks northeastward through New England on Saturday with a swath of moderate to heavy rain across the interior sections, along with gusty wind expanding across the Northeast.
From the Mid-Atlantic southward into the Southeast, lines of thunderstorms could contain severe weather as a cold front associated with the intensifying system sweeps across the region later today into tonight.
The cold front will move off the East Coast later tonight but the instability associated with a cold upper-level trough could trigger scattered thunderstorms across the Mid-Atlantic
region even though temperatures will be cooler behind the cold front on Saturday.
By Saturday night into Sunday morning, a reinforcing cold front will bring temperatures further down into the 40s and 50s from all of the Great Lakes through the Northeast and down into the Mid-Atlantic.
Meanwhile, scattered thunderstorms associated with the trailing cold front are expected across the Deep South today before pushing off the Gulf Coast by tonight.
In contrast to the rain and cooling trend in the eastern U.S., a strong ridge of high pressure will bring heat and persistent dry weather across the western U.S. and into the northern Plains.
In fact, record high temperatures will be threatened across interior northern California today, expanding into the Great Basin, Idaho, and as far north as western Montana on Saturday.
The anticipated heat in the Southwest for the next couple of days has led to the issuance of Extreme Heat Warnings for the dangerous heat for portions of southernmost Nevada, southeast California, and northwestern most Arizona.
Drinking plenty of water, wearing light colored clothing, and staying in air conditioned areas is
advised as temperatures soar as high as the mid 110s Fahrenheit in lower desert locations like Death Valley, California.
A cold front from the Pacific is forecast to bring marked cooling into the Pacific Northwest
later on Saturday into Sunday but with minimal rainfall expected through early on Sunday with the commencement of June. ■