Over 4 million people across parts of the South, the Plains and the East Coast are at risk for damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado or two this weekend.
Storms have already been sweeping through these areas for the past few days, bringing EF2 tornado damage to Washington County, Kentucky, and EF0 damage to Loudon County, Tennessee.
To start this weekend, scattered showers and thunderstorms will affect parts of the Plains and the East Coast, with a slight risk of severe weather in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as Wichita, Kansas, are included in the risk area.
The risk of severe weather will continue over parts of Texas on Sunday, with a slight risk in the cities of Waco, Bryan and College Station. Storms on Sunday will primarily pose a threat of large hail and damaging wind gusts, although a tornado can’t be ruled out.
Heat in the West
Various heat alerts remain in effect for 14 million people across California on Saturday afternoon, including in Sacramento, Redding and Bakersfield. Temperatures will be 10 to 25 degrees above average, with highs maxing out between 95 and 110 degrees.
Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, face possible record highs on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, a record-high temperature of 96 was set in downtown Los Angeles — beating the record of 95 set in 1972, according to the National Weather Service field office in the city.
These unseasonably hot conditions will also fuel fire concerns across the region. Alerts are currently in place for parts of Nevada and California, including Reno, through Sunday. Gusty 50 mph winds, above-average temperatures and low humidity will create prime conditions for fire growth.
Air quality alerts
A strong cold front will continue to drag smoke from ongoing wildfires in parts of Canada’s Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces into the U.S. this weekend.
Currently, air quality alerts are in place for more than 20 million people across the Midwest. Minnesota and Michigan, including the cities of Minneapolis, Duluth and Grand Rapids, are in the risk zone. Smoke and hazy skies from these fires may be visible as far south as the Gulf Coast.
Air quality conditions are expected to improve across the Upper Midwest by the middle of the workweek.
