Gulf of Mexico

Weather Underground Forecast for Saturday, July 31, 2010.

Severe storms will continue sweeping through the Central US on Saturday, following a low pressure system that moves eastward on Saturday. The system will start the day over the Upper Midwest, and will move into the Mid-Mississippi River Valley and up the Ohio River Valley throughout the day. A strong warm front will lead the system, kicking up scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Midwest, while a cold front will follow the system and bring wet weather to the Central Plains. These fronts have a history of producing severe weather, thus, expect heavy downpours with rainfall totals ranging between 1-2 inches, large hail, and damaging winds. Warm and humid temperatures will persist with highs in the 80s.

Meanwhile, the East Coast will remain warm and sunny under a ridge of high pressure. The Northeast and New England will remain in the 80s and 90s, while the Southeast will remain under heat advisories as highs near 100 will produce heat indicies well above 110.

In the West, a trough of low pressure moves over the Pacific Northwest and pulls some moisture onshore with it. Precipitation is not expected to accompany this system. However, in the Southwest, this moisture will allow for monsoon showers and thunderstorms to persist over Arizona and New Mexico. These storms may bring up to an inch of rain in some places, but most areas will see between a quarter and a half of an inch, as dry surface conditions will evaporate the precipitation before it reaches the ground.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Friday ranged from a low of 35 degrees at Lakeview AWS, Ore. to a high of 109 degrees at Indio, Calif.