A potent storm system is bringing beneficial rain to parts of the Great Lakes to end the weekend as the region deals with flash drought conditions after a persistently dry few weeks.
A flash drought is the rapid onset or intensification of drought. According to NOAA, a flash drought is often preceded by abnormally high temperatures, high winds and changes in solar radiation.
The area of low pressure will be spinning across the Midwest and Great Lakes region on Sunday before pushing into the Northeast on Monday.
Temperatures on Sunday will be in the 60s and 70s from Kansas City, Missouri, through Chicago and Detroit, with rain stretching from areas of eastern Missouri through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The rain could be heavy at times.
The FOX Forecast Center said a few rumbles of thunder also can’t be ruled out in Chicago and Detroit.
By Sunday afternoon and into the evening hours, the bulk of the heaviest rain could be falling across southern Illinois and into the Ohio Valley.
The FOX Forecast Center said the storm system will make its way into the Northeast by Monday, with rain expected from Ohio into Pennsylvania, the Carolinas and New York state.
Later on Monday, the rain will push into major cities such as New York and Boston, which the FOX Forecast Center expects to last into Tuesday.
While rain and thunderstorms are expected across portions of the region, temperatures should remain comfortable.
Millions of Americans from upstate New York through the mid-Atlantic should remain in the lower to mid-70s for afternoon highs.
Blockbuster rain totals aren’t expected from this system. However, the FOX Forecast Center said many areas could see 1 to 2 inches of rain through the middle of the week. That could put a small dent in drought conditions currently being experienced across the region.
Areas of southwestern Ohio and northern New York could see locally higher amounts between 2 and 3 inches by the time the system moves out of the region.
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Rain will also sweep through southern Quebec and Nova Scotia in eastern Canada, bringing badly needed precipitation to help firefighters tame dozens of wildfires that were responsible for pushing hazardous plumes of smoke into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states last week.
“The storm is pushing up into Canada – that’s the best news of all,” FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “They’re expecting maybe more than 2 inches of rain in some of the provinces where some of these massive wildfires are burning.”
For the fires in Quebec, predictions range from about a half-inch to 2 inches of rain – likely not enough to end the wildfires, but welcome news to help in the firefight.