Cooler weather eases in; fires rage out West
A weak low pressure system is currently exiting the East Coast; in its wake, cooler, more seasonable weather and sunny skies will dominate today and Friday. This brief return to autumn will be short lived, however, as the unseasonably warm temperatures the Northeast has experienced periodically over the past month will return for the weekend. On Saturday, high temperatures will surge back into the mid-70s with a chance of rain in advance of an approaching cold front. The front should pass through the area late Sunday; in its wake, autumn-like weather will return again, with highs in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 40s for at least the greater part of next week. Although local conditions have been calm, the weather has not been so tranquil across the rest of the United States.
Category 1 Hurricane Nate made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River on Saturday, causing minor damage. Nate was the 4th hurricane to make landfall in the US this year, joining Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Out west, dry air and strong winds have fueled vicious fires in northern and central California. These fires have damaged thousands of homes and scorched over 160,000 acres over the past several days. Continued dry, windy conditions could allow the destruction to spread further as firefighters and emergency managers fight furiously to get the blazes under control.