Labor Day Weekend Forecast Predicting Storms for the East

Your early Labor Day weekend forecast is here. What kind of weather can you expect in your neck of the woods during the weekend that marks the unofficial end to the summer season? Read on for all of the details.

Storms to be the Story for Much of Eastern U.S.

It could be a stormy weekend for millions of Americans this Labor Day holiday with torrential rain and locally severe thunderstorms impacting many in the central and eastern U.S. While the West will only see sparse storm activity, heat will begin to build and raise the risk of wildfire danger.

The unsettled forecast is bad news for travelers hoping to take advantage of the long three-day weekend. According to AAA, Labor Day weekend travel is predicted to be up almost 10% from 2023. The AAA said that the busiest travel windows will be late Thursday, Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning. It will ease up a bit on Sunday before picking up Monday afternoon and evening.

Travelers hoping to get ahead of the crowds on Friday will be dealing with heavy rain and gusty storms across the Midwest and down into the south-central Plains states. The expansive heat dome that has been in place over the Midwest and into the East Coast will start to break apart later this week and into the early part of the weekend as a cold front dips to the southeast.

The arrival of the frontal boundary will spark the development of storms, creating the possibility of both road and air delays in the zone along Interstate 35 through Dallas and Oklahoma City and up into the western portions of the Great Lakes. This means that air travelers flying through the busy Chicago O'Hare International Airport could see delays and cancelations as the storms ignite.

The Plains region will see cooler air behind the front, translating to temperatures tumbling on Saturday and Sunday. The storm action will continue to push to the south throughout the weekend, bringing places such as western Texas into the mix. Those in this part of the country will want to stay on top of severe weather alerts as some of the storms could turn severe at times.

Moving to the east, a zone of high pressure will mean dry conditions for most of New England. However, the arrival of the front in the Northeast will set the stage for storms to erupt across the central Appalachians, the mid-Atlantic, and into the Northeast on Saturday.

The weekend will not be a total loss for this part of the eastern U.S. There will be periods of dry weather mixed in with the rain and storms. As is typical when the temperatures are this warm, the greatest risk of storms will be in the afternoon and evening hours. Potential impacts include flooding downpours and strong wind gusts.

The speed of the front will dictate if the rain moves out by Sunday or if it will hang on until Monday. A mass of drier air will move in behind the front across the middle portion of the Appalachians and into the upper mid-Atlantic on Sunday, however, the rain and storms will likely remain an issue for the lower Mississippi Valley, the southern Appalachians, and into the lower section the mid-Atlantic. Beachgoers on the stretch of coastline from southern New Jersey down into the Carolinas should prepare for rainy conditions on Sunday while air travelers should expect delays in cities such as Atlanta and Raleigh.

Although this weather pattern will not feature tropical moisture, there will still be enough rain that the eastern U.S. could see another round of flash flooding similar to what happened earlier in the summer. The risk of a flooding event will be the greatest on Saturday and into Sunday if the front slows down and trains over one particular area.

Cooler and less humid air will move from the northern Plain and the Midwest and into the Northeast by the end of the weekend. It will be a chilly few nights for cities such as Chicago with lows forecast to drop into the 50s after the sun goes down. The cooler air will arrive to the major East Coast metro areas by late Sunday and into Monday.

Looking to the south, the Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic coastline will also be dodging rain showers and the possibility of severe storms on Monday. This could complicate travel home.