A major change in weather ahead across the Heartland

Weather

A major change in weather ahead across the Heartland

During the next 5 days, little or no rain will fall across the southern two-thirds of the U.S. From California into the Southwest, persistent warmth will accompany the dry weather.

Meanwhile, only scattered showers will occur across the North, except for some heavier precipitation in the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, and Northeast. In fact, late-week rainfall could become heavy in the Northeast, where totals of 2 to 5 inches or more may occur.

Elsewhere, surges of progressively colder air will engulf the Northwest and most areas from the Rockies eastward. Late in the week and during the weekend, temperatures should plunge below 20° across the northern High Plains, while freezes can be expected throughout the northern and central Plains and upper Midwest.

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook for calls for the likelihood of below-normal temperatures in the Northwest and between the Rockies and Appalachians, while warmer-than-normal weather will be limited to California, the Desert Southwest, and areas along the Atlantic Seaboard.

Meanwhile, below-normal precipitation across the southern High Plains and much of the West should contrast with wetter-than-normal conditions on the northern Plains and from the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast.