Daily briefing: Autumn storms rock lower Miss. Valley

A strong autumn thunderstorm system will rock the southern Plains and the lower Mississippi Valley today. This is part of a bigger system that will also soak the Ohio Valley and the interior Northeast today. This, and our tropical update, are available at 5 a.m. ET in our daily briefing.

An expansive autumn storm stretching from the Rockies across the southern Plains into the lower and central Mississippi Valley, Midwest, Great Lakes and into the Northeast will bring autumn rain along its entire path. Across the southern Plains into the lower Mississippi Valley, where a southern flow from the Gulf will feed moisture northward, strong to even severe thunderstorms are possible. The entire system can be tracked using the WeatherRadar.

A few showers and thunderstorms will be possible across Florida and the Southeast coastline, while the northern Plains, West and Southwest will be sunny.

The first full day of autumn will have a wide range of temperatures. The TemperatureRadar shows afternoon highs ranging from the 90s and triple digits across the Desert Southwest to 50s in Denver and the central Rockies. In between, large parts of California and the South, including Texas and Florida, will be in the upper 80s and low 90s, while 80s are found up the East Coast. Most other places will be in the 70s.

Major Hurricane Gabrielle, a Category 4 hurricane this morning, is turning to the east-northeast and will remain a major hurricane as it moves into the central Atlantic. This turn will keep it away from the U.S. Coast. It will still generate some swells and waves along the Atlantic Seaboard.

Two tropical waves moving across the tropical Atlantic will be watched this week. The easternmost one will have the potential to grow into the next big tropical system of the season.

Although it has been quiet recently, the Atlantic Hurricane Season peaks in September, and you will want to be ready. Learn more about how our hurricane alerts work here.