Thunderstorms flood the East, heat bakes the West

(NewsNation) — Thunderstorms are expected along most of the eastern states this Labor Day. Storms accompanied by flooding are expected to occur over much of the Gulf Coast, Southeast, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and into southern New England today. Persistent downpours across the Gulf Coast and Southeast could lead to flooding concerns.

The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings and advisories for most of the east. Also, a flash flood warning has been activated over the Dayton and Wilmington areas in Ohio.

Humidity will also build across many areas impacted by these thunderstorms.

Elsewhere, extreme heat continues in the West. Excessive heat warnings and advisories are in effect for most of the West, including an excessive heat watch in Western Siskiyou County in northern California.

Areas in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and far southern Oregon and Idaho, may all have temperatures surge into the triple digits. Some spots in the Southwest could even have temperatures rise into the 110s. Some all-time daily records may be challenged across these areas.

In Los Angeles, beachgoers on Monday sought relief by jumping in the water. Some areas were so packed that Los Angeles County officials put out alerts that a few of the more popular beaches were at capacity.

The heat wave has California in a sixth day of a Flex Alert, meaning about 40 million residents are being urged to conserve electricity from 4-10 p.m. Fire crews are also working to protect power lines.

There are several features being tracked across the Atlantic basin at this time. Danielle will continue to meander in the northern Atlantic, well northeast of Bermuda and to the west of the Azores.

By early next week, Danielle will begin to move northeastward into a zone of cooler water and increased wind shear. This will bring a decrease in wind intensity during the early to middle portions of this week as the storm moves into a less favorable environment. Impacts to western Europe will have to be monitored as Danielle could bring some rain and wind as a tropical rainstorm late in the week or next weekend.

Tropical Storm Earl continues to move northwestward and across the southwestern Atlantic. Though the center of Earl will remain northeast of the Caribbean Islands, locally heavy showers will move across the far northern Leeward Islands into Puerto Rico through Sunday night.

Most locations will have a general 1-2 inches of rain. This can lead to localized flooding and perhaps isolated mudslides in mountainous terrain. Into early this week, Earl will begin to turn to the north and eventually northeast by midweek.

Shipping interests along the path of the storm will have to remain alert for rough seas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.