NWS: Southwest Sizzles with Record-Breaking Heat, Southeast Soaked with Heavy Rain over Weekend

July 19, 2024 TruthUSA

NWS is predicting ‘widespread temperatures in the 90s and 100s followed by little overnight relief.’

As Americans get ready for another summer weekend, the National Weather Service is predicting extreme heat in the West and heavy rain in the East.

The NWS’s Weather Prediction Center issued statements on July 19, covering Saturday, July 20, through Wednesday, July 24. The center forecasted “widespread temperatures in the 90s and 100s followed by little overnight relief with lows in the upper 60s and 70s” across the western states from Tucson, Arizona, and Los Angeles through Spokane, Washington, and up to the Canadian border.

NWS notes this temperature range is “a 20–30 degree departure from normal” and warns that record temperatures could be tied or broken.

Excessive heat warnings were already in effect on July 19 and set to last into the following week for much of the western states.

The Colorado River Valley is bracing for 116 degrees Fahrenheit, with 110-115 degrees expected for the Las Vegas Valley. Death Valley National Park could see temperatures as high as 120 degrees, and portions of Oregon and Washington are expected to experience temperatures of 100-110 degrees. Boise, Idaho, could see 105-110-degree temperatures, with the hottest set for the afternoon of July 21.

Multi-day heat advisories for near-100-degree temperatures have also been issued for parts of California, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

Heat advisories have also been declared for southern Florida, from Lake Okeechobee to Key West.

However, outdoor activities in states back East could find themselves rained out in the coming days.

“Heavy rainfall associated with a stalling cold front across the southeastern U.S. will have the potential to produce localized instances of flash flooding to round out the work week,” the Weather Prediction Center posted on X. “Plan ahead and be prepared to take a different route if venturing out!”

More than three to four inches of rain are expected for parts of Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, and the Florida Panhandle. A flood advisory has been issued for several counties in central North Carolina.

The NWS expected the rain to bring slightly cooler temperatures after Washington and several other cities recorded record-high temperatures, with multiple consecutive days topping 100 degrees.

But the summer heat is still expected to reach 90 degrees, and the heat index for much of the country is expected to break 100, 110, and even 115 degrees through Monday, July 22.

The Weather Prediction Center’s Heat Index Calculator factors in the real temperature with the relative humidity to determine how hot it really feels outside, which means the heat index is often significantly higher. For example, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, observed a temperature of 91 degrees on July 19, but due to 66 percent relative humidity, the heat index registered at 106 degrees.

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