Persistent heat and dangerous wildfire conditions could impact these parts of the US this weekend
A large swath of the country is expected to face dangerous heat and fire weather conditions this weekend, forecasts show.
The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for more than 46 million Americans from the Great Plains to the Southeast on Saturday due to widespread critical fire weather danger.
The cold front that stretched for thousands of miles on Friday has ushered in a large dome of high pressure, drying out the air and kicking up winds.
The high winds, combined with dry ground fuels, will contribute to rapid wildfire growth and spread should one ignite.
Wind gusts in the Plains are expected to reach 30 to 60 mph on Saturday.
Gusty winds and dry conditions will also be in place from the Gulf Coast inland across the Southeast, including cities such as Lake Charles, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Tallahassee, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; and Asheville, North Carolina.
Much of these same regions are also experiencing some level of drought, which is the big driver for dry ground fuels.
Meanwhile, a temperature roller coaster is expected in other parts of the country this weekend.
A cooldown has swept across the Midwest and Northeast following warm spring days earlier in the week.
Places in the Midwest and Northeast, like Chicago and New York City, will be noticeably cooler for Saturday, but will rebound to seasonable highs by the beginning of the new workweek.
In some regions, temperatures on Saturday will be at least 10 to 20 degrees cooler than Friday -- following record high temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday and seasonably warm temperatures on Friday -- forecasts show.
On Friday, some regions in the mid-Atlantic broke or tied their daily record highs for March 27, including Savannah, Georgia, which reached 89 degrees Fahrenheit, and Columbia, South Carolina, which reached 88 degrees.
As March wraps up, a pattern change will bring likely warmer than normal temperatures for the eastern half of the nation and near normal temperatures for the western half for the beginning of April.
But record-shattering heat will continue in the Southeast, with no relief coming this weekend.
Friday saw another day of record-breaking temperatures.
Phoenix reached 102 degrees; Death Valley reached 101 degrees; and Tucson, Arizona, reached 98 degrees.
Daily record highs are possible again this weekend for Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Between March 15 and March 26, more than 100 monthly records were broken or tied, and 700 daily records were broken or tied across the country, according to the National Weather Service.
Since March 1, there have been more than 1,100 daily records broken or tied across the nation.
