National Weather Forecast

On Friday, hot weather will start to build once again in the central United States heading into the Labor Day weekend. Storms are possible in the Southeast, partly due to an area of low pressure in the Gulf. Monsoonal storms are possible in the west, and a system moving through the region will help to spark some more.

Pockets of heavy rain from Thursday through Saturday are expected in the Mid-Atlantic (from Idalia moving away on Thursday), the northern and eastern Gulf Coast, and in parts of the Great Basin and Desert Southwest. In these areas, rainfall amounts of 3”+ are possible.

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Hurricane Idalia is yet another test of America’s aging power infrastructure

More from Axios: “In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, getting the power back on as quickly as possible will be one of the most pressing challenges — and any major delays will once again call into question the resilience of the country’s aging electrical infrastructure. Why it matters: Power outages can be one of the longest-lasting and dangerous results of major hurricanes, sometimes persisting well after any storm surge and high winds subside. 2021’s Hurricane Ida, for example, knocked out power for more than a million residents across Louisiana and nearby states; full restoration took over two weeks.

‘You can’t survive this’: Hurricane Idalia strikes Florida’s most vulnerable coast

More from Grist: “This year’s first major hurricane made landfall early Wednesday morning, bringing 125 mile per hour winds to Florida’s Big Bend region. Officials and residents told Grist that the sparsely populated coastal area, which stretches from near Gainesville to just south of Tallahassee, was wholly unprepared for Hurricane Idalia, a Category 3 storm fueled by exceptionally hot waters in the Gulf of Mexico. The area hasn’t been struck directly by a hurricane in more than a century. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Mandy Lemmermen, the battalion chief for the Dixie County fire department, who was hunkered down in an operations center in the county seat of Cross City when she spoke to Grist on Tuesday evening. “You can’t survive this.” After taking shape in the Gulf of Mexico, Idalia underwent a process known as “rapid intensification,” swiftly strengthening from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane as it passed over the hot waters of the Gulf of Mexico, then weakening just before it made landfall. The most devastating Atlantic hurricanes of the past few years, including 2022’s Ian and 2021’s Ida, have all undergone this process. Scientists believe that climate change is making it more common.

Biden pledges $95 million to shore up Hawaii’s electric grid after deadly wildfires

More from CNBC: “The federal government will provide $95 million to shore up Hawaii’s electric grid in the wake of deadly wildfires, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday. The money “means investments to make sure electricity can continue to reach homes, hospitals and water stations, even during intense storms,” Biden said at a White House event on disaster recovery. The funding will also enable the Pacific island state to bury more power lines, replace old electrical poles and clear overgrown brush around them, said Biden. The news comes as Hawaii’s main electric utility, Hawaiian Electric, is facing a dozen lawsuits alleging that the company’s practices were partly responsible for the deadly fires, a claim the utility denies.

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– D.J. Kayser