Breakfast Brief: South storms linger, crisp North

Another crisp start to the day today, with large portions of the Eastern U.S. experiencing unseasonably cool temperatures. Meanwhile, storms concentrate across the Southeast and Four Corners regions, with the West heating up towards the weekend.

Cities across the Midwest experienced cool temperatures Thursday morning, with places like Duluth and Minneapolis, Minn., and Green Bay and Madison, Wis., seeing temperatures in the 40s and 50s. This cold air mass, linked to a high-pressure system, has moved eastward, bringing cooler temperatures to the eastern Ohio Valley and the interior Northeast Friday morning.

The cooldown came after a cold front that is now mainly residing across the Southeast affecting states from the Deep South to the eastern Mid-Atlantic. Shower and thunderstorm activity will be heightened across these areas and along the front, though storms should be generally weaker than yesterday.

For the West, expect a repeat of Thursday's showers and thunderstorms in the Rockies and Four Corners region. There is potential for flash flooding in areas of heavy rain, particularly across New Mexico. Meanwhile, the Intermountain West, San Joaquin Valley, and Desert Southwest will remain predominantly dry with slightly rising temperatures through the weekend.

Currently, no development is expected over the next seven days.

When heat builds and a front nears, the natural response of the atmosphere is to produce storms. Under the right conditions, these storms can become strong or even damaging. Always stay storm-aware with our automated alert system. Here's how you can turn them on!