End of July, early August to bring uptick in storms in central, eastern and southern US
Following an extended period of low humidity and a minimum of thunderstorm activity over much of the southern United States, conditions will change enough to allow more general shower and thunderstorm activity as July ends and August begins.
Much of this past week brought a break from typical midsummer heat and high humidity over much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation. Record lows were set from Texas to the Carolinas.
A more typical summer pattern unfolded, but the extreme heat and high humidity of July 19-21 will not be realized in most areas this time around. During that several-day stretch, temperatures climbed well into the 90s to near 100 F, while AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures soared to between 100 and 115.
In most areas, high temperatures are forecast to increase only slightly during the first part of this week. Highs will generally be in the 80s to near 90 F.
However, one hot spot will be New England, where temperatures will trend to 5-8 degrees Fahrenheit above average during the last three days of July. It is possible that Boston gets a two- to four-day stretch with highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s.
Much of the Interstate-95 corridor of the mid-Atlantic and New England will have highs within a few degrees of 90.
The bigger change will be the upward trend with nighttime lows and humidity levels over much of the Southern and Eastern states.
Lows most nights during the first part of the week will generally range from the middle 60s to the middle 70s with the large urban areas being the warmest.
With more humid air will come thunderstorms
The uptick in humidity and steady warmth will help to trigger a substantial increase in the amount of afternoon and evening shower and thunderstorm activity.
That uptick will begin in the Deep South and Mississippi Valley this weekend and slowly spread eastward and northward through the final days of July.
"The greatest concentration of thunderstorms on Monday is likely from parts of the southern Plains to the Great Lakes," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck.
"On Tuesday, that unsettled corridor will expand toward the eastern Great Lakes, eastern Ohio Valley, lower Mississippi Valley and parts of the Appalachians," Smerbeck said.
"By Wednesday, areas from New England to the interior mid-Atlantic and Southeast, as well as the Appalachians and parts of the Ohio and lower Mississippi Valley, will be in the unsettled weather zone," Smerbeck added.
A few spotty storms are likely outside of this concentrated area of showers and thunderstorms each day.
For those at the beach this coming week, most storms are likely to hold off until Wednesday night or Thursday and may only be spotty in coverage.
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has designed a seawall to help protect communities and reduce impacts during severe coastal storm surges during hurricanes. The plan calls for about 5 miles of seawall, levies and stormwater detention ponds. They hope to create something that will protect up to 2 feet higher than during Superstorm Sandy.
Helping out in the thunderstorm department will be a dip in the jet stream that will slowly expand southward and eastward over time.
This dip represents cooler air aloft that, when combined with heating of the ground by the sun, makes it easier for showers and thunderstorms to erupt.
Meanwhile, in the Deep South, much of the Florida Peninsula has been stormy this past week. The storms have been affecting outdoor activities, including theme parks in the region.
Look for storms to diminish and become more widely separated in nature over much of the peninsula into early this week. Storms will tend to focus along the upper Gulf coast during this time.
However, later this week, the core of the unsettled conditions is likely to settle over the Southeastern part of the nation, in general.
Showers and thunderstorms may linger along much of the Atlantic coast as well during the first few days of August.
Cooler air will slowly make another push from the northern Plains to much of the Midwest this week.
Some of that cooler air will reach the interior Northeast and southern Appalachians as well.
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