The lead up to meteorological summer will limit summer warmth to the nation’s midsection to Southeast. Soaking downpours and thunderstorms will be in the forecast also, with both ends of the country saddled with unusually cold, inclement weather at times.
Saturday
A fast-moving storm with Arctic roots will slide away from the southern New England coast to begin the weekend. Not only will temperatures be 20 to 25 degrees below normal for the second to last day of May, but a cold rain blown about by blustery to windy conditions may lead to outdoor recreational activities being cancelled or delayed until late in the afternoon or evening. The taller, interior Vermont and New Hampshire terrain may end up with several inches of wet snow and wind chills in the teens and 20s.
Other weather trouble spots will occur from the Sunshine State and Carolinas through the Dakotas and farther west into Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. Rounds of showers and thunderstorms will be commonplace, especially during the afternoon and evening, though sporadic activity will be possible in the morning also. In the strongest activity in an arc from southeastern Montana to near the Texas Big Bend, scattered damaging winds and large hail will be the primary risks; a brief tornado will be possible too.
Rain mixed in with embedded thunderstorms will stick around most of the day in northern Utah and western Wyoming. The tallest northern Wasatch and western Wyoming Rocky Front Range peaks could receive a couple to several inches of snow by day’s end. If travelling here, make sure to allow plenty of time and distance between you and the next motorist to arrive at your destination safely.
The West Coast, Arizona and New Mexico, and most of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic and interior Northeast will be largely precipitation-free. Splashes of sun will even make it to the eastern and southern New England coast late in the day.
Summer-like warmth will control the nation’s midsection east of the Rockies to near or just east of the Mississippi River. Seventies, 80s, and 90s are forecast. West of the Rockies and east of the Mississippi River will be a different story, which will be littered with unusual cold to seasonably cool weather. Highs will be coldest in New England, the Cascades, and parts of the Rocky Front Range where 40s, 50s, and lower 60s will be scaped out by the end of the day. The warmest spots will happen in the Southwest deserts and Southeast to Florida with 80s and 90s.
Sunday
A familiar weather pattern will remain locked in place for the last day of May. An area of low pressure will move little across eastern Montana, with a long front draped from it to Florida. This combo will be the antagonist for rain, downpours, and thunderstorms. A couple of the most intense thunderstorms could pack gusty winds and large hail in Wichita, Kan., Kansas City, Mo., Omaha, Neb., and Des Moines, Iowa.
Meanwhile, the coldest part of the storm could deliver accumulating wet snow across the tallest peaks in western Montana and northwestern Wyoming to finish up the weekend.
Sunshine will fade in New England, particularly across much of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine during the afternoon and evening. This is when low pressure in eastern Canada will drop southward, leading to an uptick in shower coverage. Mainly cool temperatures will be hard to dislodge.
Other potential problematic spots could be along the central and western Gulf Coast, near the Texas Big Bend to western Texas, and from parts of the Sierra Nevada to the foothills in Colorado. Here, isolated to widely scattered shower and thunderstorm activity could briefly interrupt outdoor plans.
A sun-filled sky is forecast from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Carolinas. Similar weather is expected from the Northwest southward through the Desert Southwest and parts of the central and south-central Plains.
Cool to unseasonably cool 50s, 60s, and 70s will be found along the Eastern Seaboard and west of the Rocky Front Range to east of the Sierra Nevada and Northwest beaches. The tallest Wyoming mountains will have a tough time climbing out of the 20s and 30s to close out the weekend!
The warmest temperatures will again occur across the nation’s midsection, Florida, as well as the Desert Southwest into California’s Central Valey. This is where 70s, 80s, and 90s will be the norm, which is up to 20 degrees above normal! Triple digit heat will blanket much of the typically hotter Southwest deserts.
Leave a Reply