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[July 31, 2010]  (AP)  Severe storms were expected to continue sweeping through the central U.S. on Saturday following a low pressure system moving eastward.

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The system was forecast to be over the upper Midwest early Saturday, then move into the mid-Mississippi River Valley and up the Ohio River Valley throughout the day.

A strong warm front was expected to lead the system, kicking up scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Midwest, while a cold front was forecast to follow the system and bring wet weather to the central Plains. The fronts have a history of producing severe weather, so heavy downpours were expected with 1 to 2 inches of rain, large hail and damaging winds. Warm and humid temperatures were expected to persist with high temperatures in the 80s.

Along the East Coast, warm and sunny weather was expected to persist under a ridge of high pressure. Temperatures in the Northeast and New England were expected to remain in the 80s and 90s. The Southeast remained under heat advisories with high temperatures near 100, which could produce heat indexes well above 110.

In the West, a trough of low pressure was forecast to move over the Pacific Northwest and pull moisture onshore, though precipitation was not expected to accompany the system. But in the Southwest, the moisture could allow for monsoon showers and thunderstorms to persist over Arizona and New Mexico. The storms could bring up to an inch of rain in some places. But most areas were forecast to see between a quarter and a half of an inch of rain, because dry surface conditions were expected to evaporate the precipitation before it reaches the ground.

On Friday, temperatures in the Lower 48 states ranged from a low of 35 degrees at Lakeview AWS, Ore., to a high of 109 degrees at Indio, Calif.

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[Associated Press article from Weather Underground]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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