Weather
A change in weather ahead across the Heartland
Hurricane Delta is bound for the Louisiana coast, with landfall expected on Friday afternoon or evening. Delta’s arrival will occur in proximity to, and just six weeks after, Category 4 Hurricane Laura devastated southwestern Louisiana with 150 mph winds. Although Delta is not expected to become as strong as Laura, recovery efforts are still ongoing across the hardest-hit areas, resulting in higher-than-usual vulnerability to high winds, heavy rain, and a coastal storm surge.
As Hurricane Delta moves inland across Louisiana, rainfall could total 5 to 10 inches, with locally higher amounts. Totals of 3 to 6 inches or more are expected in the Mississippi Delta, while 1- to 3-inch totals may occur as far north as the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic. Meanwhile, a pattern change in the Northwest will result in much-needed rain, starting on Friday. However, mostly dry conditions will persist across large sections of California, the Great Basin, and the Southwest, despite the arrival of cooler air.
As cooler air overspreads the West, warmth will expand eastward, resulting in several days of summer-like weather across the Plains and Midwest.
By early next week, however, a cold front will sweep across the Plains and Midwest, preceded and accompanied by scattered showers.
Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for near- or above-normal temperatures nationwide. The likelihood of warm weather will be greatest in the Northeast and Far West
Meanwhile, near- or below-normal precipitation in the lower Southeast and from the Pacific Coast to the Plains will contrast with wetter-than-normal weather across much of the eastern one-third of the U.S.
