Labor Day weekend outlook: Dorian to brush Florida; Storms to drench central US
As temperatures soared well over 100 degrees on Aug. 23 in Arizona's Lost Dutchman State Park, 44 hikers had to be rescued after they became exhausted while hiking on the Flat Iron Trail.
Several weather regimes will be in play for the Labor Day weekend across the United States, including a familiar pattern of high humidity and downpours in the Deep South, while waves of cool air continue to slice across the northern tier.
With the last unofficial week of summer underway, some people planning end-of-the-season getaways will need to monitor the tropics, while others will be dodging downpours.
Across the North Central and Northeastern states, episodes of autumnlike weather will continue, but across the Deep South, the weather will remain tropical with downpours. Meanwhile, more heat will continue over the interior West with some monsoon moisture coming into play.
In the Deep South, the greatest risk of disruptive flooding downpours is likely to be from near Interstate 20 on south over the Mississippi Delta region and I-40 on south from the Appalachians on to the east.
Dorian, currently a hurricane north of Hispaniola, is expected to become a Category 4 hurricane as it tracks toward Florida this weekend.
"We expect Dorian to track across the northern Bahamas on Sunday then reach the Florida east coast on Labor Day," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.
Impacts near the eye wall and as the tropical system pushes inland are expected to include power outages, flooding and property damage this weekend.
It is possible that the day before Dorian's arrival, the weather is sunny, hot and still in the northern Bahamas and Florida.
All residents and visitors over the Florida Peninsula as well as Georgia and the Carolinas should monitor the progress of Dorian. Cruise lines may alter their itinerary to avoid the path of the storm. Flight delays and cancellations are likely in the region.
Locally heavy shower and thunderstorm activity is also in store from the southern Plains to the middle Mississippi Valley, lower Great Lakes and the Northeast on Saturday and Sunday.
As has been the case in recent weeks, much of the West will remain free of rain with significant heat over the interior.
Beachgoers spend their Labor Day holiday at Manhattan Beach, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/John Antczak)
A few storms associated with the North American monsoon are likely in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah during the extended weekend. It is possible some storms erupt in parts of southern Nevada and Southern California as well.
During Labor Day itself, unsettled conditions with clouds, showers and storms are likely to shift away from the Ohio Valley and into portions of the Northeast.
This means that after some days of wet weather, a large part of the middle of the nation will dry out on Monday.
A new batch of showers and thunderstorms is forecast to drop southward across the northern Plains and the Upper Midwest on Labor Day.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate over the Bahamas on Monday and progress westward to the Florida east coast and northward along the southern Atlantic coast as next week progresses due to Hurricane Dorian.
Download the free AccuWeather app to view the latest forecast for your area and keep up-to-date with the latest tropical developments. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
