Weather

Rains to increase across much of the Heartland

During the next several days, a broad area of early-season heat will continue to affect much of the southern and western U.S. By week’s end, however, markedly cool air will arrive in the Northwest and spread across the northern Plains. Meanwhile, a cold front that recently crossed the northern Plains and Midwest will stall, helping to spark showers and thunderstorms in the Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic States. Total rainfall could reach 1 to 4 inches along the axis of the former cold front. However, most of the remainder of the U.S. will receive little or no rainfall during the next 5 days.

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for above-normal temperatures nearly nationwide, with the greatest likelihood of hot weather expected across the West and Southeast. Meanwhile, drier-than-normal conditions from the Pacific Northwest into the upper Midwest will contrast with above-normal rainfall across much of the southern and eastern U.S.

5-Day Precipitation Totals

NOAA’s 6- to 10- Day Outlook

NOAA’s 8- to 14- Day Outlook