Much of the nation is set for “great barbecue weather” this Memorial Day weekend, forecasters said Friday – with mostly hot and dry conditions except for the Northeast and the Upper Plains.
Florida and the Gulf Coast will be hottest with temperatures into the 90s, but most of the rest of the U.S. will enjoy temperatures in the 70s and 80s right through the holiday weekend, The Weather Channel lead meteorologist Michael Palmer said.
However, before the weekend arrives there is severe, thundery rain to endure on Friday for parts of the South as a slow-moving storm system moves slowly east.
Sunday and Memorial Day itself will be the driest days overall for New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston, he said.
Showers and thunderstorms are likely on Saturday across the Northeast and the Upper Plains, with some of the rain on the Plains so heavy that it could cause localized flooding.
“Overall it should be an uneventful weekend weather-wise,” Palmer said. “Away from the areas at risk of showers it should be good barbecue weather.”
On Sunday, the risk of rain storms should diminish except for the Northeast corner of New England, and the risk of isolated thunderstorms in the parts of the Southeast and Florida.
On Monday, the greatest risk of thunderstorms is in a band stretching from the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest down to the Dakotas to Texas.