First October storm to break the heat after severe weather in western, central US

Millions of Americans are experiencing the last taste of summer this week with record-breaking temperatures being reported in several cities across the US from the Midwest to the Northeast, but there’s a storm brewing that threatens to bring snow to higher elevations in the West and severe weather and heavy rain to the Plains that will break the heat and bring back seasonable temperatures to much of the nation.

Here’s a look at the week ahead.

Rain has been falling across the Four Corners region, which the FOX Forecast Center says should continue throughout the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, heavy snow is expected to fall in the higher elevations of the Rockies.

Most areas will only see a few inches of snow through Tuesday, but higher elevations in the Telluride, Colorado, area could pick up 5 to 8 inches of snow with locally higher amounts of between 8 and 12 inches.

As Monday continues, the rain will expand and likely stretch from the Dakotas to New Mexico as a cold front develops off the Rockies.

Severe weather is possible in the Plains on Monday, and while storms are possible from the Dakotas to the US-Mexico border, the highest risk appears to be centered along the New Mexico-Texas border. There’s also a risk in western Nebraska and southern South Dakota.

In New Mexico, cities from Springer to Carlsbad need to be on the lookout for possible tornadoes, large hail and damaging wind.

Those threats are also possible in Texas in cities from the Amarillo area to Van Horn.

Tuesday’s weather forecast

The FOX Forecast Center expects this storm to be in full swing by Tuesday, with rain likely across the Plains from the Dakotas to Texas.

Snow will also be continuing in the higher elevations across Wyoming, northern Utah and Colorado.

The severe weather threat will also shift to the east and will stretch from the Upper Midwest to the US-Mexico border. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center places areas from Nebraska to Texas under a level 2 out of 5 on its thunderstorm risk scale.

The biggest threats from those severe thunderstorms will be large hail and damaging wind gusts over 60 mph, but tornadoes are also possible.

Tuesday is also when cooler temperatures are expected to begin pushing into portions of the Upper Midwest, which will see high temperatures drop from the 90s to the 70s.

Wednesday’s weather forecast

The FOX Forecast Center says that by Wednesday, the cold front will stretch from Minnesota to Texas, which will once again lead to widespread rain along the front.

The bulk of the action will be focused on Oklahoma and Texas, but the cold front is expected to slow down and allow for extra moisture to build into the region.

The rain is welcome in the Plains, and the predicted 2 to 3 inches of rain will help parched areas, but there’s also the potential for some areas to pick up 3 to 5 inches of rain through the week, which could lead to flash flooding.

There’s also another risk of severe weather in the region, but the highest risk appears to be heavy rain and flooding rather than tornadoes, hail and damaging wind as with previous days this week.

The risk of flash flooding appears to be highest from the Oklahoma City area southward through Dallas and Waco, Texas.

Thursday and Friday weather forecast

The rain will continue in the southern Plains on Thursday as cooler temperatures begin to filter in from the north.

By Friday, the computer forecast models are hinting at a secondary cold front with another shot of cool Canadian air, which will continue spreading south and east across much of the central and eastern US into the weekend.