Record breaking heat settles in the Southwest

The heat will remain locked in place for the next several days this week.

A storm system moving through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast is bringing heavy rain and occasional gusty winds from Illinois to New England this morning.

This same storm already brought reports of gusty winds from Kentucky to North Carolina on Saturday and hail up to the size of a hen egg was reported in North Carolina on I-85 with evening thunderstorms. The storms also brought 2 to 3 inches of rain to parts of Missouri and Illinois.

This morning as the storm moves into the Northeast, a few rounds of heavy rain will be possible at times. Locally, 1 to 2 inches of rain will be possible in the heavier downpours.

Overnight into Monday morning, however, the atmosphere should cool down enough for some rain to change over to snow in parts of the higher elevations from northern Pennsylvania to Maine. Little to no accumulation is expected for most of the area, except for near the Canadian border where a few slushy inches could accumulate. That is also where we find the latest winter weather advisories being issued.

The storm will pull away on Monday night with some remnant showers remaining and a few occasional gusty winds. The combination of some gusty winds, ongoing showers and widespread cloud cover will make it feel pretty raw in the Northeast.

The first heat wave of the season is still ongoing in the western U.S. Los Angeles International Airport, Pasadena, San Diego, Anaheim and Newport Beach all tied or broke daily record highs on Saturday.

Some slight cooling is expected Sunday and Monday in parts of Southern California while the heat builds significantly in the desert Southwest with triple-digit temperatures likely in Palm Springs, Las Vegas and Phoenix in the coming days.

A few records will be possible in the desert Southwest today including Phoenix, where the current record is 101, with a forecast of 103 this afternoon.

The heat will remain locked in place for much of the Southwest U.S. for the next several days this week. A 100 degree temperature has never been recorded in April in Las Vegas, and on Wednesday, April 29, the forecast currently is 102.

On Tuesday, the risk for severe weather will return to parts of the southern and central Plains, with strong winds, large hail and tornadoes possible from Texas to Missouri.

Meanwhile, Tropical Depression 1E in the Eastern Pacific will drift further out to sea and is expected to become a remnant low later Sunday. However, per the National Hurricane Center, the formation of this system on Saturday marked “the earliest formation of a tropical cyclone in the eastern North Pacific basin since the satellite era began in 1966.”