Forecast for First Week of Fall

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

September 22,2013; 9:27PM,EDT

 

 

Many have been marking their calendars for the first official day of autumn. With the start of a new week, Sept. 22 has arrived bringing a variety of conditions across the country.
Although the season will start with fall-like temperatures in some places, other regions will have warmer temperatures clinging to the first few days of autumn with sunshine.
Below are details for regions across the country for the first official week of fall.

Northeast and Midwest: Cool, Then Warming

In the wake of a cold front that moved through on Saturday, there will be a brief dip in temperatures from the Great Lakes to the Northeast.
Cities like Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo, State College and Washington, D.C. will be at least a few degrees below average for the first day of fall. Syracuse and Pittsburgh will have highs more than 10 degrees under the average for this day in September.
There will still be a few lingering showers in the Northeast for Sunday, followed by increasing sunshine for the start of the workweek.
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As the week progresses, temperatures will be on the rise, making it into the upper 70s and even 80s across the mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley.

Southeast and Gulf Coast: Summer Returning

The sweeping cold front to end the last few days of summer dumped large amounts of rain on the region.
Areas like Shelby, N.C., New Orleans, La., and Houston, Texas, surpassed the 3-inch mark in only 24 hours.
Much of the South will be starting fall off with sunshine from Virginia through the Tennessee Valley.
For the first day of fall, the Carolina Coast and Gulf Coast will be dreary with lingering showers and clouds, but sunshine will break through for the workweek.
After a cool start, temperatures will be on the rise for the middle of the week, making it only a brief feeling of fall. Highs on Wednesday will range from the middle 80s to the lower 90s.

Southwest and South Central: Dry and Warm

A mild start of autumn will come to cities such as Dallas, Texas; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Los Angeles, Calif. After lows started in the 50s in some places, highs will reach near average for Sunday, ranging from the upper 70s to low 80s.
Sunshine is expected to continue for the majority of this area.
A few showers and thunderstorms will continue to stream along the Arizona/New Mexico border to the Four Corners in the afternoon on Sunday. Some of these storms have the potential to be strong or severe with the threat for damaging wind gusts and hail.
However for the middle of the week, abundant sunshine will stretch from the Southern California coast to Oklahoma.

Northwest, Rockies and Northern Plains: Rain and Thunderstorms

Cold fronts sweep through these regions for the start of autumn, bringing the chance for a wet start to the week.
High pressure over the Great Lakes will help to keep it dry with warming temperatures in cities like Minneapolis, Bismarck and Omaha on Sunday as highs reach 80 in some locations.
Showers and thunderstorms will transfer from the Rockies on Sunday to the northern Plains for the start of the workweek, bringing temperatures back to near 70.
The Rockies will have a very up-and-down week with more rain bringing the chance for additional flooding in the Boulder, Colo., area through early Monday. However, a few dry days with temperatures in the upper 70s will follow for the middle of the week.
The Northwest will be feeling the autumnlike chill for this first week. Temperatures will remain in the lower 60s in most areas through middle of the week as a cold front brings rain and a cool wind to the region.
As described in more detail here, this will bring cold air to the tops of the mountains, making for some early snowfall in the higher elevations.