Throwback To USA Summer: Record Heat, Wildfires, Tornado Outbreak, Floods Late Season Tropical Trouble? Vermont Hot

This flower managed to survive recent hard freezes here
in St. Albans, Vermont, so as a reward, it will get
to enjoy record high temperatures for the 
next couple of days. 

 Much of the nation is this week is having a throwback to summer, with record heat, wildfires, tornado risks and even some grumblings in the Caribbean of a potential new tropical storm in a few days. 

The heat is widespread. 

To give you an idea of the random, widely scattered record highs we had Tuesday, they include 84 degrees at Albuquerque, New Mexico, breaking the record by five degrees;  Del Rio, Texas had a record high of 90 and Sioux City, Iowa set a record at 82. 

Peoria, Illinois set a record at 85 degrees, as did Springfield, Illinois with 84. 

The record heat is moving into the Northeast today and tomorrow, including here in Vermont. More on the Green Mountain State's weather on a section further down.

There's more wild weather to talk about to.

We'll start with Oklahoma, which is easily having the worst weather of anybody this week. The most variable, too. 

On Tuesday, wildfires in Oklahoma forced evacuations and closed roads. The fire risk remains very high in western Oklahoma today.

But today and tonight, central and eastern Oklahoma, Kansas and parts of Missouri are under a tornado risk. A few strong tornados are possible. 

We usually associate spring and early summer with tornadoes. However, there is sometimes a secondary peak in severe weather in the autumn as storm systems get stronger with the season. 

Severe weather is back! Middle of the nation under the gun
later today, especially in the orange area, where a 
couple strong tornadoes are possible tonight. 

After the severe weather clears out late tonight, Oklahoma isn't done with the dangerous weather.  

Another severe weather outbreak could hit the state Sunday. On top of that, repeated rounds of torrential rains are forecast to hit Oklahoma and Kansas over the upcoming weekend, likely causing floods. 

 Meanwhile the weird, extreme drought in the Northeast is expected to continue. That band of wet weather originating in the southern Plains over the next week will extend through the Great Lakes. It will miss the now arid Eastern Seaboard so wildfires will continue there. 

No rain is in the forecast for the next seven days in places like New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC.

New York City did manage to receive a scant 0.01 inches of rain Tuesday, so technically, they won't have a rain-free October.  But still, incredibly dry.

One more thing bubbling out there. The National Hurricane Center is watching areas of disturbed weather in the western Caribbean Sea. This could develop into a late season tropical storm by the weekend or early next week. 

Nobody is sure if a tropical storm or hurricane would develop and if it does, where it would go. So stay tuned on that. This is pretty late in the year for something to develop, but it's still technically hurricane season, so it's definitely possible. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

Last night's warm front did bring some nice, beneficial rains to at least parts of the Green Mountain State.

Burlington had a solid 0.54 inches overnight. That's not a huge amount, but it helps. And  it was still the wettest day since September 26. 

Rainfall won't be distributed well in the U.S. over the next 
week. Orange area is at risk for flooding, while
the Eastern Seaboard (white shading) is forecast
to get no rain in the next seven days.
Vermont gets clipped by some rain especially north. 

Montpelier managed to get 0.42 inches, and St. Johnsbury received a third of an inch. But southern Vermont missed out again. Bennington reported only 0.05 inches last night.

 Elsewhere in southernmost Vermont, anything from a few hundreds of an inch to 0.2 inches fell.

Here in Vermont, we will get clipped by that storminess in the middle of the nation. 

While, as mentioned, the Eastern Seaboard looks like it will continue to get screwed out of any rainfall, at lest we have some chances here in the Green Mountain State.

 Over the next seven days, perhaps a little under a quarter inch of rain is in the forecast for southeastern Vermont but that increases to nearly an inch by the time you hit the northwest corner of the state. 

I'm burying the headline a bit here, but the big news for this post is the record warmth expected, especially tomorrow. Highs today should be in the 65 to 70 degree range, which would come close to record highs, but probably not make it 

On Halloween, many areas of Vermont will get solidly into the mid 70s. Maybe upper 70s in a couple warmer locations. This should break record highs by several degrees, and might set marks for the hottest for so late into the season.

The warmth should last into the evening for trick or treaters. Maybe the costumes this year should have been for things like swimmers, life guards and other summer-themed outfits.

Some showers are on the way later Halloween night, but those should hit after the trick or treating hours are done.