Pleasant weather is expected for most of the Eastern U.S. for the next few days. The exceptions will be the coastal Carolinas and into Florida, where a stalled frontal boundary offshore will bring shower and thunderstorm activity to the outer banks of North Carolina and east coast of Florida. A broad upper level trough traversing the Western U.S. will be the main weather maker for the Central Plains and Rocky Mountains through Saturday. The accompanying surface frontal boundary should move from the Central Rockies to the upper Midwest and into Texas by the weekend.
A trailing cold front will likely extend westward to northern Arizona, and this should hold down temperatures some compared to recent days. In the warm sector of this system, an area of showers and storms will likely develop over much much of the central and northern Plains, as well as the upper Midwest.
At 200 AM PDT, the center of Tropical Depression Aletta was located about 680 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. The depression is moving toward the northeast near 3 MPH. A turn to the east and then southeast is expected later today. Maximum sustained winds remain near 35 MPH, with higher gusts. A gradual weakening is anticipated and Aletta should become a remnant low in a day or so.
Strong winds will contribute to fire danger where several fires are ongoing. There are critical fire weather areas today for a large part of the eastern two-thirds of Arizona, southeastern Utah, western New Mexico, parts of southwestern Colorado, and a small part of the trans-pecos region of southwestern Texas.
