Weather
An active pattern for the Heartland, southern states
Significant rainfall, at times accompanied by large hail and damaging winds, will continue into the weekend across the upper Midwest. The rain, which could total an additional 2 to 4 inches or more in some areas, may benefit soybeans and other immature summer crops.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Ida will continue to strengthen, perhaps rapidly, and should reach the U.S. Gulf Coast (Louisiana or Mississippi) on Sunday. Ida could be a major hurricane, with sustained winds greater than 110 mph, at landfall, resulting in potentially catastrophic damage due to flooding rains, high winds, and a coastal storm surge. (Parts of Louisiana are still recovering from last year’s hurricanes, Laura, Delta, and Zeta.)
Elsewhere, much of the remainder of the U.S. will experience very warm weather and mostly dry conditions. Negligible rain will fall during the next 5 days from the Pacific Coast to the southern Plains, aside from scattered, monsoon-related showers in the Southwest.
Looking ahead, the 6- to 10- day outlook calls for the likelihood of above-normal temperatures across much of the central and eastern U.S., while cooler-than-normal conditions will cover most of the West.
Meanwhile, near- or above-normal rainfall across most of the country should contrast with drier-than-normal weather in the Rio Grande Valley, the southern Atlantic region, and the Northwest.
