Four Things to Watch in This Week's Weather

Jonathan Belles
Published: August 20,2017
All eyes are on viewing conditions for Monday's eclipse, but we're also watching three other weather stories as August comes to a close.
Among them are severe storms, a cooldown and a potential redevelopment of former Tropical Storm Harvey.
Here's what to watch in the week ahead.

1) Eclipse Forecast

All eyes will be on the Great American Solar Eclipse to begin the workweek. Most spots will be able to see the moon move in front of the sun, but there will be a few trouble spots.
The eclipse will start mid-morning in the Pacific Northwest, arrive in the nation's heartland around midday and hit the Southeast in the early afternoon before ending in the Lower 48 states after 4 p.m. EDT.
Showers and a few thunderstorms may pop up in parts of the Southeast and Midwest with the heating of the day as the sun's shadow moves eastward.

Cloud Cover Outlook

(MORE: Eclipse Forecast, Region by Region)

2) Severe Storms Start the Week in the Midwest, East

An early-week moisture-laden cold front will drop southward from Canada into the upper Midwest with the chance of severe weather.
Strong to severe storms will be possible Monday from parts of the mid-Missouri Valley east-northeastward into the mid- and upper Mississippi Valley.
The cold front will slide into the Ohio Valley and interior Northeast on Tuesday, with another chance of severe weather from southeast Missouri northeastward into portions of Pennsylvania and upstate New York.
(MORE: Severe Storms Threaten Plains, Midwest and Northeast Early This Week)
Damaging wind gusts and large hail will be the primary threats from any severe storms that develop on Monday and Tuesday. Locally heavy rain could result in pockets of flash flooding, as well.
Showers and storms will drift south and east into the South and mid-Atlantic on Wednesday.

Rainfall Forecast and High Temperatures

(FORECAST: St. Louis | Chicago | Indianapolis | Pittsburgh) 

3) Midwest Cool Down

Temperatures will tumble after storms clear out of the Midwest. August has been cooler than average so far in much of the Plains, Midwest and even parts of the East, and that pattern will repeat itself this week.

Another cold front will slice through those regions, ushering in yet another round of below-average temperatures. Temperatures will be 5 to 10 degrees below average over a large section of the central and eastern parts of the country by midweek.

Areas shaded blue will have below-average temperatures by midweek.

This translates to highs in the 70s and upper 60s around the upper Midwest and interior Northeast, with highs in the 80s elsewhere east of the Rockies. Highs in the 90s will slide southward into Florida and south Texas.
The most impressive lows will come in the upper Midwest and higher elevations of the interior Northeast; low temperatures could bottom out in the upper 40s there. Lows will also drop into the 50s as far south as the Ohio Valley.

Low Temperature Forecasts for the Next Five Days

(MORE: Forecast Highs and Lows)

4) Watching the Tropics

We will be keeping our eyes on the remnants of former Tropical Storm Harvey as they track west-northwestward in the Caribbean.
Harvey could redevelop in the western Caribbean or Bay of Campeche this week. Heavy rain from the system may cause flooding in Central America and Yucatan Peninsula regardless of whether Harvey reforms or not.
(MORE: Harvey to Redevelop?)
Locations from south Texas into eastern Mexico should keep a close eye on Harvey during the next several days since the system could eventually reorganize in the Bay of Campeche.

Harvey's Remnants: Forecast Models Tracks

In addition to Harvey, Invest 92L continues to fester well southeast of the Bahamas. The odds of this system developing are low, but it will enhance rainfall in the Bahamas and Florida during the first half of this week.

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