Breakfast Brief: West heat intensifies into the holidays, Beryl tracks west across the Caribbean

The heat will start cranking up across the West, with several locations in interior California reaching the 115 to 120-degree mark by Independence Day. Meanwhile, Beryl continues its westward track across the Caribbean after slamming into the Windward Islands and holiday travel begins to ramp up.

Temperatures will continue to rise across the West today as a heat wave intensifies. Central California will see highs in the upper 100s, while the Desert Southwest could reach the 110s. Due to the heat, outdoor Independence Day events may need to be suspended. Isolated areas in Central California might hit 115°F, and low-lying desert valleys in the Southwest could reach the upper 110s. This heatwave is expected to persist through the weekend and expand north into the Pacific Northwest by week's end.

Another unseasonably cool morning is in store for the northeast quadrant of the U.S. on Tuesday, with temperatures dropping to the upper 40s in isolated areas of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, and interior Northeast. Enjoy the cool weather while it lasts, as summer warmth is set to return by the weekend.

A low pressure system exiting the northern Plains will bring storm chances to the Midwest and Mississippi Valley today, with some potentially turning severe. The strongest storms are expected in the Central Plains and Lower Midwest, particularly in Iowa, northeast Kansas, and northern Missouri. Damaging winds are the most likely threat, with isolated hail also possible. The Southeast U.S. and Four Corners region will experience increased rain and storm chances, though generally weaker storms are expected.

Major Hurricane Beryl made landfall shortly after 11:00 a.m. EDT on Grenada’s Carriacou Island in the Caribbean Sea, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph—making it a high-end Category 4 hurricane. This event marks Beryl as the earliest forming Category 4 hurricane in the North Atlantic and the strongest storm to pass through the Grenadines since records began.

Beryl will continue its westward track across the Caribbean, likely impacting portions of Hispaniola and Jamaica before reaching the Yucatan Peninsula. Some gradual weakening is expected as the system encounters less favorable conditions on Tuesday. Another system in the south-central North Atlantic Ocean follows a similar track to Beryl, which we will monitor closely.

Holiday travel ramps up this week, with AAA estimating over 70 million people traveling for Independence Day. Ensure you have the right tools to track the weather on your trip. If you have Android Auto, look for Weather & Radar USA on your car's center console screen! Here's how it works.