Hot dogs. Apple pie. Sweat stains.
After a month of intense heat baked much of the United States, the Fourth of July weekend will bring “some typical summertime weather,” in the words of Bob Oraveck, a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service.
That’s code for hot and humid, as it usually is across most of the country around this time of year. Rain could dampen some weekend activities, Mr. Oraveck said, but in limited spurts.
The central parts of the country will have temperatures above average, he said, but nothing like the record-breaking heat that lingered for the first three weeks of June.
Some widely scattered thunderstorms and heavy rain could reach the East Coast and the Gulf States on Saturday, contributing to the mugginess. And parts of the Southwest, where the seasonal monsoon falls at this time of year, could be a “total washout,” Mr. Oraveck said.
Out West, concerns about droughts and wildfires have led cities to cancel their fireworks displays.
Here’s what you can expect for the holiday weekend:
In the East
It’s going to get steamy. Much of the Northeast will have warm but pleasant weather on Friday, with humidity building over the weekend, leading to a somewhat sticky July 4 on Monday.
Cities including New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington could experience heavy rainfall on Saturday afternoon into the evening, and then again on Sunday, Mr. Oraveck said. Highs will range from the mid-80s to the mid-90s.
In the Central U.S.
It’s going to be hot. Not as hot as June, when heat records were set across the region, but temperatures are still going to be high for this time of year — about five to 10 degrees above average across the Central Plains and the Great Lakes into the Mid-Atlantic States.
That means highs in the low to mid-90s in many places, with triple-digit temperatures possible throughout the Central and Southern Plains.
There will be scattered showers and thunderstorms across a good portion of the region, from the Ohio Valley down into the South, as well as in parts of the Southwest into the Rockies, Mr. Oraveck said.
Down South
It’s going to be muggy (notice a theme?), with high heat away from the coast and downpours near the Gulf of Mexico. Scattered, slow-moving thunderstorms will spread across the Gulf Coast and the Southeast to start the weekend, with numerous showers expected along coastal Texas and far southwest Louisiana.
Conditions over the weekend could mean flash floods for the Texas coast and elsewhere in the Southeast.
Out West
Despite the canceled fireworks, much of the West Coast will have below-average temperatures over the holiday weekend. Highs will still be in the upper 90s in some places, Mr. Oraveck said, but that’s a few degrees lower than the average for early July.
Conditions are still dry, and the region will not receive much rain. Hot, windy weather this summer has already helped prime the region for fast-moving wildfires, including one near Sacramento that forced hundreds of evacuations on Thursday.
