As the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary on July 4 much of the country faces a dangerous heat wave that’s expected to last through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
It said that the Independence Day heat wave will persist across the Ohio Valley, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic. This heat wave is expected to bring “numerous temperature records.”
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people are at risk for heat-related illnesses if they work or participate in activities outdoors in excessive heat.
Then, there’s the thunderstorms that are expected to boom across parts of the Allegheny Plateau into Mid Atlantic Saturday. With the storms comes the potential for widespread damaging winds, the NWS noted. Additional severe thunderstorms are also expected in the Great Plains.
While the risk of thunderstorms was categorized as “enhanced” as of Saturday morning over the Mid-Atlantic, there was also a slight risk of severe thunderstorms over the Central/Southern High Plains on Saturday and then again over the Mid-Atlantic on Sunday. A slight risk of excessive rainfall was noted over the Central/Southern Plains on Saturday and Mid-Atlantic on Sunday and Monday.
“A front extending from the Northeast to the Great Lakes and then northwestward into the Northern Plains will move slowly southward and eastward into the Mid-Atlantic, the Ohio Valley, and the Lower Mississippi Valley/Southern Plains, then northward over the Northern Plains by Monday,” the NWS explained. “The system will produce showers and severe thunderstorms over parts of the Central/Southern Plains and the Mid-Atlantic.”
Frequent lightening, severe wind gusts, hail and tornadoes are also possible over the Central and Southern High Plains. Flash flooding is in the forecast for this area as well. In the Mid-Atlantic, severe thunderstorms, rainfall and potential flash flooding are predicted through Monday.
“Meanwhile, a second front moves onshore over the Northwest on Saturday and then moves inland to the Northern Plains, southwestward into the Great Basin by Monday morning,” the NWS said. “The boundary will produce showers and thunderstorms over parts of the Northern High Plains, the Northern Intermountain Region, and parts of Washington State on Sunday evening into Monday. Elsewhere, scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop along the Gulf Coast and Florida through Monday.”
