A cold front slowly sinking south into the Carolinas and Mid-South is bringing a return to near-normal temperatures along with much needed rainfall for many locations that have experienced 100+ degree temperatures over the past few days. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are likely to develop in the vicinity of this front as it moves slowly southward. Out west, a combination of moist southerly monsoonal flow aloft and easterly surface upslope flow is likely to produce scattered showers and thunderstorms from the Front Range of Colorado into Mexico through Wednesday. This will help to alleviate the drought and limit wildfire growth potential. Over parts of Oregon, Washington state, and Idaho, some strong thunderstorms will be possible as mid-level disturbances track around the northern periphery of a high pressure ridge that is centered over the Desert Southwest.
There are critical Fire Weather areas for southwestern and south-central Montana, parts of Idaho, and far northwestern Wyoming today. Dry thunderstorms are predicted for the same areas. Red Flag Warnings continue for the interior Northwest and northern Rockies, where abundant lightning over a region of dry fuels may pose a threat for new fire starts.
At 200 AM PDT the center of Tropical Storm Daniel was located about 1440 miles east of Hilo Hawaii. Movement was toward the west near 16 MPH and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds were near 70 MPH. With higher gusts. Gradual weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Daniel could become a tropical depression by Thursday.
At 200 AM PDT the center of Hurricane Emilia was located about 680 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Movement was toward the west-northwest near 12 MPH and this general motion with a slight decrease in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds were near 140 MPH with higher gusts. Emilia is a Category Four Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are possible today but gradual weakening is expected to begin by tonight and continue through Thursday.
