West Coast heat takes center stage as Erin exits our consciousness

We’ve been watching Erin so long I forget exactly how long it has been. Now that it’s exiting stage right, I am not sure what we’ll all do going forward.

Weather watch

West Coast heat. About 50 million people are under heat alert from the Pacific Northwest to the Desert Southwest. Some of the hottest weather of the year will persist through the weekend in and around Los Angeles. The Lower 48 annual high temperature of 124 may also face a test, with exactly that forecast in part of Death Valley — lows of 100-plus are expected there. Amid the heat, fire threats remain significant in many of the Western States; a large blaze began Thursday north of San Francisco.

Sayonara, Erin. We started tracking Erin about two weeks ago and now it’s time to say goodbye. With sustained wind of 90 mph at 5 a.m., the storm was accelerating toward the tropical cyclone graveyard in cooler North Atlantic waters but may see a bit of a second life as an extratropical system heading toward the United Kingdom. Thursday was another day of big waves and coastal flooding up and down the East Coast, with remnant impacts lasting into the start of the weekend.

Lightning links

Erin joined a long list of recent Category 5s. Are they happening more often? (Free version) (Me, The Washington Post)

Officials ignored 'critical' warnings on Grand Canyon blaze, fire plan shows. (Stephanie Murray and Robert Anglen, USA Today)

Billions of workers now suffering from heat stress, UN says. (Rebecca Speare-Cole, The Independent)

(Another) Dakota tornado

It’s been a big summer for photogenic northern Plains tornadoes. Another was added to the list on Thursday.

Here’s a unique, if wobbly, view from a plane.

The cause was an isolated supercell crossing multiple state borders while dropping tornadoes and spitting out some large hail.

About

Weekday morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster. Connecting weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.

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