The dry weather that recently prevailed in flood-ravaged parts of the Middle Atlantic will give way Monday to showers and thunderstorms. Rain will also spread across the Southeast. Downpours may result in flash flooding and water standing on roads. Areas hit hard by the flooding last week will be most at risk for new flooding this week. Gusty winds will bring choppy seas and an increased risk of rip currents along the Atlantic beaches of the Southeast. High pressure will keep New England dry, with low humidity.
Showers and thunderstorms, some of them heavy, will stretch from the lower Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley to the south-central Plains. Wet weather may linger into the morning over the central High Plains, while spotty thunderstorms will dot Iowa in the afternoon. The storms moving into the southern Plains will mark the leading edge of a mass of cooler air that will finally bring relief from heat to the region. Record lows will be challenged across the Texas Panhandle at night.
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Firefighters in the West will not get any assistance from the weather as heat continues to engulf the region. In Portland, Oregon, Monday may break the record for most 90-degree days in July. Any afternoon thunderstorms will be confined to the Desert Southwest and Sierra Nevada.
FOCUS: Northwest Heat
The fire danger will rise Monday as very hot air spreads across the Pacific Northwest. Highs west of the Oregon and the Washington Cascades, including Seattle and Portland, will be 90 to 100 degrees. Areas near the coast will stay cool.