Weekend Weather Preview

Storms largely vacate the Central U.S. this weekend, but their eastern and western counterparts will not be as lucky.

Saturday
A formerly sluggish cold front finally makes its move when a new low pressure system spawns over the Ohio Valley. This means that most remnant showers in the southern Plains are set to dissipate by dawn, whereas the rest of the rain shifts eastward of the Mississippi Valley toward the East Coast as Saturday ticks forward. Thunderstorms increase in number and strength as they reach above Appalachia, bringing flash flooding potential there as well as isolated severe storms to the East Coast.

Another center for inclement weather will open over the West after morning showers drizzle over the Pacific Northwest. Prepare for scattered thunderstorms to visit the central Rockies in the afternoon and evening, bringing their own risk of flash flooding threats to Nevada. A few spots of wintry mix and snowfall may accompany the higher mountain peaks of the region.

Highs reaching the 90s will be localized to parts of Florida and the Desert Southwest, while 70s and 80s continue to heat up the High and southern Plains, the Intermountain West, the Gulf Coast, the Southeast, and the Coastal Mid-Atlantic. Only the Great Lakes, the Interior Northeast, the Tennessee Valley, and the West Coast cool into the 60s and 50s.

Peak temperatures just in their 20s, 30s, and even 40s, are only expected in the Cascades, the Sierra Nevada Range, and isolated peaks in the Colorado Front Range to kick off the first weekend of May.

Sunday
Two upper-level weather systems will wreak havoc on any plans for the end of the weekend. One system will be centered over the Midwest, while the second spins over southern California and the Desert Southwest. Both systems will funnel in plenty of moisture into the Eastern U.S. and the Mountain West. 

Rounds of rain and thunderstorms will be found throughout the day for most areas east of the Mississippi River on Sunday. The best chance would be the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and the entire Eastern Seaboard. There could be some stronger thunderstorms, mainly in the Southeast. Be prepared for some gusty winds and hail within thunderstorms.

Across the West, precipitation will be increasingly likely across southern California into the Desert Southwest, the Great Basin and Rockies throughout the day. Rain will be the predominant precipitation type for most areas. However, the tallest peaks of the Rockies could pick up some wet snow or a rain/snow mix. There will be a small chance of rain in the Northwest and northern California, while central and southern High Plains could see some showers and thunderstorms later in the afternoon and evening.

The Plains into parts of the Mississippi Valley will be in between these two weather systems. Consequently, most of the Central U.S. will be dry for the conclusion of the weekend.

High temperatures in the 60s and 70s will be most common throughout the nation. This includes most of California into the Desert Southwest, the Plains, Mississippi Valley, Deep South, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. A few of these spots could also see some isolated lower 80s. 

The exceptions will be parts of the Midwest into the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, where temperatures will only reach the upper 40s and 50s. Most of the Northwest, Great Basin and the highest elevations of the Rockies will also likely see temperatures in the upper 30s, 40s and 50s. Florida will also be the other exception, where widespread 80s and a few 90s are possible.