| Northeast Regional Video  Thanks to building high pressure behind a departing cool front, the weekend's back half will be salvageable in the Northeast. Despite raining out a Saturday along the East Coast, this rainfall was needed for most, particularly from the Delaware Valley to Virginia. For example, Washington, D.C., for example, picked up over 6" of rain since Wednesday, their heaviest rain event since the floods of late June 2006. Quite a change from a bone-dry September, which only managed a paltry 0.60" all month! This was, perhaps, the best possible drought relief scenario in that this significant rainfall was spread over a 3-4 day span, which allowed the rain to soak into dry soil with only minor flooding of small creeks and streams. Conversely, if this rain had come from a sudden thunderstorm, much of the water would have simply runoff, before being absorbed by dry soil. That all said, the dry out arrives Sunday. High pressure will slide into the Ohio Valley. The main weather feature will be northwest winds thanks to the gradient between the above-mentioned high and intensifying low pressure in Labrador. These chilly winds in concert with wrap-around clouds will keep highs in the 40s from northern New England to western Pennsylvania. Upper 50s for highs, along with 15-25 mph northwest winds can be expected in Boston, Hartford, New York City, and Newark. Low to mid-60s will span from south Jersey to northern Virginia. High pressure will continue to dominate the Northeast through the first half of the week. Only some areas of dense morning fog in the interior Northeast & Appalachians will mar an otherwise delightful stretch of weather. |
| South Regional Video With one state serving as a notable exception, generally calm weather will continue over the nation's southern tier early this week. It's a classic autumn pattern, virtually the polar opposite of last week's wet, laggard low. High pressure will build into the Tennessee Valley Sunday. This sets the stage for cool, crisp nights and mornings, with patchy dense fog. Lows Sunday morning will bottom out in the 40s over much of the South. Thanks to the dry air mass, afternoon temperatures Sunday will quickly recover into the upper 60s from Oklahoma to the Carolina Piedmont, as 70s blanket most of the rest of the South, from central Texas to the eastern Carolinas. Given the exceptional long-term drought in the Tennessee Valley and Carolinas, this extended period of beautiful weather has a double-meaning. No further significant drought relief is expected through much of the coming week. Ironically, the exception in this rather peaceful scenario is the Florida Peninsula. A stalled-out frontal boundary, coupled with a deep plume of tropical moisture will maintain the threat of scattered showers and t-storms over the Sunshine State, with the exception of the Florida Panhandle, much of next week. Beachgoers at Florida's Atlantic beaches will have other concerns besides dodging raindrops. While high pressure cleans out much of the rest of the country's precipitation, the gradient between it and lower pressure in the Caribbean will set up a period of strong northeast winds, high surf, rip currents, and potential beach erosion beginning Sunday, continuing through at least the middle of the week. |
| Midwest Regional Video Tranquil autumn weather will continue from the Ohio Valley to the Plains states as we kick off the last week of October. High pressure will settle into the Missouri Valley tonight, setting up a chilly start to the day Sunday. Frost advisories and freeze warnings have been hoisted for much of northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri, including the Kansas City metro area. Lows will dip again well into the 20s in the Dakotas, Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. Thirties will be the rule over most of the Central Plains, mid-Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes. As the featured high shifts into the Ohio Valley Sunday afternoon, temperatures will remain a tad chilly for late October in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes. Highs will be stuck in the 40s from Minnesota's Iron Range to the "thumb" of Lower Michigan. Fifties or low 60s can be expected over the Ohio Valley. On the high's "backside", warmer south winds will send the mercury climbing into the 60s in the northern and central Plains. This warming trend will spread eastward on Monday, with highs in the 60s spreading into the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley Monday into Tuesday. The next frontal system will sweep quickly from the northern Plains to the Great Lakes Tuesday & Wednesday, potentially squeezing out some wet snow from North Dakota to Upper Michigan. |
| West Regional Video Generally peaceful weather is expected over the West Coast, Great Basin and Rocky Mountain states on Sunday. Light onshore flow will continue to help the firefighting effort in Southern California at least through Tuesday. This wind regime is helpful on two fronts. First, since it's a flow from the ocean, it is a more humid flow. Secondly, the winds are lighter, in stark contrast to the 70+ mph Santa Ana winds earlier this past week. The Rockies look to be noticeably warmer Sunday. Cloaked in stubborn upslope clouds on Saturday, temperatures struggled to get out of the 40s in Denver. Sunday, in typical zig-zag fashion, highs should zoom into the low 70s. Sixties will stretch to the Canadian border. The Desert Southwest will remain hot, with Phoenix registering yet another day in the 90s. Climatologically speaking, this is about the time of year when the Phoenix Valley sees its last 90-degree readings of the season. |