(NewsNation) — A strong cold front will begin to hack down the dome of 100-degree heat over the Central states today, but record heat will still be in place for much of the country.
The record-high temperatures that baked the nation yesterday will by and large continue to hold sway, with areas from Chicago all the way down to the Texas Gulf Coast remaining hot.
Much of the zone from Michigan to Texas will remain very hot, while the cooler air will reach the northern Plains.
Intense storms will erupt along and ahead of the front, with a high risk of damaging winds and tornadoes centered on Wisconsin. Locally severe storms will extend farther south over the Plains and near the boundary of cool air in the East from the eastern Great Lakes to the southern Appalachians.
Cool air that recently invaded much of the West will begin to fade as the jet stream pulls to the north. However, a storm over the Pacific will focus on the West Coast by the weekend, and that will help to jump-start the North American monsoon and its thunderstorms in the deserts.
The national high temperature Tuesday was 107 in Roswell, New Mexico, making a cold drink at the Little A’Le’Inn a must. The coldest air in the nation was in Bodie State Park in California, where the low hit a refreshing 20 degrees.
The tropics so far are remaining fairly quiet, with an area of disturbed weather in the western Caribbean being watched. However, it’s close to land and there is substantial upper-level wind shear that so far limit its chances for development. No development is expected before the end of the week.