Summertime conditions fueled violent thunderstorms in portions of the United States on Sunday, as the Southwest anticipates another week of high heat.
According to AccuWeather, an active weather pattern of heat and humidity is threatening a vast swath of the central United States with severe thunderstorms throughout the early week. A smaller area of the region is predicted to be hit by hail, strong gusts, and a few tornadoes.
However, the primary severe weather dangers for regions of the East are heavy and excessive rainfall, as well as destructive winds.
According to AccuWeather, severe weather will hit the Central Plains and parts of the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys through Sunday night. Flash flood advisories were issued by the National Weather Service.
In the Southwest, torrid conditions are raising temperatures above average once more, with triple-digit heat forecast throughout the week. According to the weather service, scorching temperatures will produce “widespread moderate to high heat risk” and, locally, extreme risks in the deserts.
“The source of this upcoming heat is a large, sprawling ridge of high pressure positioned over the Southwest,” AccuWeather meteorologist Andrew Johnson-Levine explained. “This will help to keep most showers and storms at bay, allowing for sunny skies and higher temperatures.”
In the meantime, other threats afflicted southern Florida and California.
On Saturday, a large dust storm from Africa’s Sahara Desert caused hazy skies in South Florida. A landslip in Southern California forced the evacuation of 12 homes Saturday night after cracks were discovered on a property.
Extreme weather: Flash Flood warnings in the Northeast
According to the weather service, parts of the Northeast were on high alert for flash floods.
At least a half-foot of rain is predicted from Sunday to Tuesday as the slow-moving weather system moves into the mid-Atlantic and New England, according to AccuWeather. Tropical moisture over the region will produce heavy rain, which could be devastating from the Carolinas to Maine.
“Rainfall rates could reach 2 inches per hour in some locations as the system steadily moves,” AccuWeather meteorologist Adam Douty said. “Infrastructure in the metro areas may not be able to handle rainfall of this magnitude, and as a result, rising water could quickly inundate some locations.”
AccuWeather reported high water levels and flooded streets in various parts of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. Rainfall of up to four inches was also reported across the region by Sunday afternoon, according to local weather stations.
According to the weather service, portions of southern New York, including the Hudson Valley, were facing life-threatening flash floods. On Sunday night, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for Orange County and declared a flash flood emergency for the area.
According to the New York State Police, multiple routes were flooded and washed out, resulting in road closures. New York City emergency management officials warned that heavy rain could cause basements to flood, and homeowners were advised to prepare.
High temperatures Set new records.
The blistering heat is predicted to increase wildfire risks, heat-related diseases, and strain the electrical grid across the Southwest.
According to AccuWeather, a northward bulge in the jet stream will stay over the Southwest this week before gradually shifting to the Plains next week.
According to AccuWeather, multiple heat records in the Southwest will be challenged throughout mid-July.
El Paso, Texas, surpassed the record for the most consecutive 100-degree days on Sunday, reaching 24 days of triple-digit heat.
“This breaks the previous record of 23 set in 1994,” El Paso’s meteorological agency tweeted. “It appears that more 100-degree days are on the way.”
In Los Angeles County, 12 residences have been evacuated due to a landslide.
A surrounding area south of Los Angeles was put on high alert Saturday night after cracks were discovered on a property, according to FOX Weather.
According to Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ Executive Office, 12 residences in Rolling Hills Estates were endangered by a “major” landslip and were evacuated on Saturday night.
The residences were located along a canyon and were judged “too unstable” to enter, according to Hahn on Twitter. All of the residents were safe.
Hahn wrote in an update Sunday that the landslip “completely destroyed” the dwellings and ripped them off their foundations. The soil was still shifting as of Sunday afternoon, but the evacuation order remained limited to the 12 homes.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the ground shift “could be due to the extensive rains that we’ve had…. but we don’t know,” said Paul Goodrich, a building official with the city Rolling Hills Estates. This winter, a historic weather front slammed a huge section of Southern California with beautiful snow, record rains, and flooding.
South Florida is covered in Saharan dust.
Dust brought from Africa’s Sahara Desert arrived in South Florida on Saturday, turning the area’s azure skies opaque and potentially affecting air quality.
According to National Hurricane Centre forecast models, dust clouds could strike Florida and the whole Gulf Coast over the next week. While dust is not uncommon, AccuWeather forecasters say it could still produce poor air quality and cloudy skies.
Dust clouds from the Sahara Desert often form in the late spring, summer and early autumn, according to NOAA. Every three to five days, a mass of dry, dusty air flows over the North Atlantic Ocean, carrying up to 66 million tonnes of dust over the ocean and the Americas.
During the summer, it is usual for dust outbreaks to spread further west, including Florida, Central America, and Texas.