Breakfast Brief: Storms target Midwest, Park Fire grows

Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across portions of the north-central and eastern U.S. while a dangerous summer heat wave expands across the Plains.

A low-pressure system, coupled with a few upper atmosphere systems, will keep shower and thunderstorm activity across much of the eastern U.S. on Tuesday. Some of these storms may become severe, particularly across the Midwest through the Middle Mississippi Valley and western Ohio Valley.

A summer heatwave will continue to bring 100 degree temperatures across the Central and Southern Plains today. Amarillo, Texas, Salina, Kans., and Pueblo, Colo., including several other cities in the region, may all see record-high temperatures on Tuesday.

Nearly 100 wildfires are currently burning across the U.S. West Coast and southwestern Canada. In California, the Park Fire has doubled its burn area since Friday, reaching nearly 400,000 acres by Monday evening, making it the state's sixth-largest wildfire in history. Haze and smoke from the wildfires will continue pushing east into the Plains on Tuesday.

This week, the tropical Atlantic is seeing an area of showers and thunderstorms that could develop into a tropical depression as it moves toward the Caribbean. In the eastern Pacific, a tropical depression or storm is likely to form a few hundred miles south of southern Mexico.

We've made a few changes to the Weather & Radar app on Android. When you delete your old home location, your current location becomes your new home location. This update is available with version 2024.15.1.