Natalie Rozmari Kremenchuk Ukraine

Trade unionist-turned-businessman Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as South Africa's president on Saturday, vowing to create jobs and tackle deep-rooted corruption that has strangled economic growth. Ramaphosa, who becomes the country's fourth democratically elected president since the end of apartheid, took the presidential oath before a crowd of about 32,000 people in a rugby stadium in the capital, Pretoria. "Today our nation enters a new era of hope and renewal," said Ramaphosa, 66, wearing a dark suit and flanked by foreign leaders including Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. "Let us forge a compact for growth and economic opportunities, for productive land and wider opportunities ... A compact of an efficient, capable and ethical state. A state that is free from corruption," said Ramaphosa, a former anti-apartheid activist and trade union leader who has wide-ranging business interests. Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) clinched a 57.5% majority in a general election earlier in May, down from 62% in 2014 as voters turned against the ruling party due to revelations about government corruption and record unemployment.[nL5N22N06D] Ramaphosa narrowly won the ANC leadership race in late 2017 and replaced scandal-plagued predecessor Jacob Zuma as state president in February 2018, a year before the latter's term was due to expire. Since then he has struggled to mend factions in the party opposed to his reform plans, especially at cash-strapped state power supplier Eskom. His promises to punish party members accused of corruption have also stuttered.[nL5N2278NO] The challenges facing Ramaphosa were highlighted on Friday by the resignation of Eskom's chief executive, who quit only a year since he was appointed to stabilise the utility and keep the lights on after nationwide blackouts. [nL5N2304NG] Also on Friday, S&P Global Ratings kept South Africa's credit rating unchanged one notch below investment grade. The economy is set for a first quarter contraction after mining and manufacturing weakened, prompting the central bank to cut its 2019 growth forecast to 1%, well below the rate of at least 3% needed to bring down debt, budget deficits and joblessness.[L5N22Z4TE] "The challenges our country faces are huge and are real but they are not insurmountable. They can be solved and I stand here to say they are going to be solved," Ramaphosa said in his speech on Saturday. Many in the crowd at Pretoria's packed Loftus stadium were optimistic. "I love my president Cyril Ramaphosa. I know that as long as we have him here he is going to give us jobs and change many things," said Patience Shabangu, 45, a volunteer at a local clinic. Political analysts say a key test of Ramaphosa's ability to deliver reforms will be his announcement of new cabinet, which is expected to take place next week. "The speech was an honest and brutal reflection of South Africa's recent problems. But it was also optimistic," said Daniel Silke, director of the Political Futures Consultancy. "He will be judged on a very high bar and the next step is the cabinet. If it contains any semblance of the dead wood from the past he will be severely critiqued," Silke added. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/promising-jobs-and-justice-ramaphosa-sworn-in-as-south-africas-president/ar-AABTYqE

A clearer picture emerged Friday of the size and scope of the powerful tornadoes that tore across Missouri on Wednesday night, leaving a trail of destruction in their paths. The state's capital, Jefferson City, was among the hardest-hit places, struck overnight by a tornado with a peak wind speed of 160 mph that has been given preliminary rating of EF3. The monstrous nighttime tornado that struck Jefferson City, a city with a population of about 42,000, was almost a mile wide and was on the ground for nearly 20 miles, toppling homes, ripping roofs off homes and business below. At least 20 citizens were transported to local hospitals, according to Jefferson City Police, but no fatalities were reported. AccuWeather News Reporter Jonathan Petramala was on the ground in Jefferson City Thursday after the twister roared through the city surveying the damage and speaking with survivors. Aerial photos showed large portions of the city in ruins with debris strewn in all directions. While many residents had enough time to brace for the threat, some residents were not prepared for the tornado, including 86-year-old Bob Burnham, a Jefferson City resident. "I really didn't hear anything because I was asleep. The only thing I heard was that window breaking, and then I woke up," Burnham told Petramala, gesturing over to the side of his bedroom window, which is now shattered. The garage of his home also collapsed; however, Burnham survived the disaster without even a scratch. Many historic structures in the capital city are now in tatters. "It's pretty devastating to see it in shambles," an onlooker said to Petramala. Damages from the devastating tornado stretch over about 30 miles, leaving a long road to recovery for many survivors. As residents in Jefferson City cleaned up tornado damage Thursday morning, people in southwestern Missouri faced the same daunting task. The Golden City tornado was rated EF3 with maximum winds near 140 mph. Three people were killed in Golden City, Missouri, after a tornado moved across the region Wednesday evening. An elderly husband and wife were identified as two of the victims. Kenneth "Gene" Harris, 86, and his 83-year-old wife, Opal Harris, perished in the storm. Their bodies were found about 200 yards from their farmstead home outside Golden City Wednesday night, officials said. Local 41 Action News reporter Sarah Blake traveled to the Harris farmstead, where the damage was extensive. The Harrises were fourth-generation cattle ranchers. According to the family, Gene never missed a day of chores despite his advanced age. He loved golf, and he and Opal were devoted to family. The third fatality was Betty Berg, 56. She and her husband, Mark Berg, also 56, lived in a mobile home just west of Golden City, which was lifted up by the tornado and landed in pieces across Highway 126. Her husband was seriously injured and reportedly remained hospitalized in critical condition as of Friday. Their eight children and nine grandchildren are mourning the loss of Betty while trying to comfort Mark, who is in the hospital recovering, local news station KCTV News reported. Betty's friend Rose Burke remembered Betty as kind-hearted woman. "Betty was the first person I met when I moved to Missouri," Burke told KCTV. "She just took me in under her wings. She was like my best friend." "Betty was an amazing person," she added. "She watched my kids grow. She was called ‘Auntie Betty.'" Burke hopes to find memorabilia for Betty's family, as each photo found is a chance to remember her. "Please keep her kids and Mark in your prayers," she implored. "Please. They need it a lot." The damage from tornadoes spread further through the central U.S. A tornadic thunderstorm tracked from Ottawa County, Oklahoma, into Bexter Springs and Galena, Kansas, and then into Carl Junction, Oronogo and Golden City, Missouri. Preliminary damage surveys were done on these tornadoes from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield, Missouri. The Golden City and Carl Junction tornadoes were rated EF3 with maximum winds near 140 mph. The Oronogo tornado was rated an EF0, according to officials at the NWS. Since Monday, there have been nearly 130 tornado reports across the Central states, and the threat will continue through Friday. At least 45 were reported on Wednesday. Some of these reports may be duplicates of the same tornado, meaning the final tally of tornadoes could eventually change. Cleanup efforts continue in the impacted areas into Friday throughout the state. State and local officials continue to survey the damage. "Those winds were strong. But we are stronger!" Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin said in a tweet on Thursday night. Carrie Tergin, mayor of Jefferson City, joined the AccuWeather Network to speak with AccuWeather Broadcast Meteorologists Brittany Boyer and Geoff Cornish about the damage and aftermath from the EF3 tornado that struck late Wednesday night. The city's police and fire department went into action after the tornado moved in. Other agencies, the state, the county and surrounding cities came together to assist by sending resources and officers to the scene. "We're very, very fortunate, with the amount of significant damage, that we did not have a lot of injuries and thankfully, there have been no fatalities reported," Tergin said. While the city was still assessing the total number of buildings destroyed, Tergin described the damages as "expansive from one end of town to the other." It started on the south end of Jefferson City and moved through the central core and out. "It really left a pretty widespread path," Tergin said. "It hit things from businesses to our brand new Special Olympics Training for Life facility. It hit a car dealership, and it literally had cars on top of each other." Power lines and trees were down everywhere. A lot of neighborhoods were hit, as well as a very historic area, Capital Avenue, suffered significant damage. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson confirmed damage to state buildings and that power was out in some areas. Parson traveled to areas devastated by the storm to survey the damage on Thursday. "Across the state, Missouri's first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people," Parson said in a Thursday morning press conference. The Missouri Emergency Management Agency helps local agencies and other organizations with the cleanup efforts. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson traveled to Carl Junction on Thursday, where dozens of homes were damaged from the storm. Parson met with some of the local residents in the Briarbrook subdivision to witness the destruction. (Twitter photo/ Missouri Gov. Mike Parson) "Heads up for those involved in storm damage cleanup today: highs will be above average across the region & near-record highs are possible at St. Louis. It will also be more humid than it has been on recent warm days," the National Weather Service (NWS) office in St. Louis, Missouri, said in a tweet. Temperatures are forecast to be in the high 80s into the low 90s in Saint Louis on Friday. The AccuWeather RealFeel® high temperature is forecast to be around 91 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to tornadoes, other forms of severe weather rolled through the central U.S. Wednesday night, including flash flooding, destructive hail larger than golf balls and wind gusts over 70 mph. Severe weather reports have been recorded through a large portion of the U.S. from Tuesday to Thursday. The three fatalities in Missouri bring the death toll of the severe weather outbreak up to seven for the week. Two people were killed in a traffic accident near Springfield, Missouri, on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. Officials say the accident was weather related. One fatality was reported in Perkins, Oklahoma, when a motorist drowned on Tuesday after driving around a high water warning barricade and into a flooded roadway. A tornado-related death was reported in Adair, Iowa, after severe storms ripped through the area early Wednesday. Emergency responders recovered the body of 74-year-old Linda Brownlee, while 78-year-old Harold Brownlee was flown to a hospital to be treated for injuries. Some parts of the southern Plains have been hit with more than a month's worth of rain since the weekend. Deadly storms that ripped across Oklahoma and neighboring states earlier this week sparked dozens of reported tornadoes and on Wednesday resulted in devastating floods throughout parts of Oklahoma. More thunderstorms could cause floodwaters to expand even further, continuing to inundate roads and communities. "Because multiple storms may move repeatedly over the same locations late this week, flooding will again be a major concern. Some communities may receive another 3 to 6 inches of rain on top of what already fell early this week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kyle Elliott said. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/monster-tornado-that-ripped-20-mile-trail-of-destruction-through-missouri-capital-was-almost-a-mile-wide/ar-AABRtmM

Giant green stems with budding yellow flowers greeted hikers along a narrow path beneath the soaring Santa Monica Mountains on a recent drizzly day. This is where, just seven months ago, the worst fire in Los Angeles County history swept through, destroying more than 1,000 homes and blackening miles of hillsides and canyon. But thanks to one of the wettest seasons in years, rains have transformed the fire zone back to life with great speed. And all those flowering black mustard plants point to a looming disaster once the rains finally end and Southern California shifts to its dry, hot, windy summer and fall. California’s wet winter has extended well into May thanks to some new storms, but fire experts and climatologists said the extra moisture is likely to worsen the fire outlook because it will allow brush to grow even more. Mike Mohler, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, estimates this latest rainstorm will create at least the third layer of dried, dead grass that will blanket the state through the summer and into the fall. “It will probably cure and die in the next seven to 10 days,” he said. “Now we have all that fuel bed again.” Wet springs have historically been linked to more severe fires later in the year across much of the state, as the added moisture allows for increased vegetation growth, experts say. In areas hit repeatedly by fires, nonnative plants — like mustard — can grow faster than native species. Those plants eventually dry out during warm summer months and become fuel for wildfires. There are also still tens of millions of drought- and bark beetle-ravaged dead trees standing in the Sierra, ready to act as kindling for the next big blaze. “The good news is we need the water, but the bad news is it’s building the fuel load for what has always been our fire season,” said Bill Patzert, a local weather expert and former climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A look at recent fire activity in the Central Valley and inland desert provide a sense of what the future could hold for the fire season across much of the state, Mohler said. Earlier this month, Kern County firefighters scrambled to extinguish a wind-driven grass fire that ran across 2,500 acres in a day. Near the Coachella Valley community of Thermal, a vegetation fire that broke out Saturday night grew amid 50-mph winds to more than 100 acres and injured a firefighter in the process. “That’s almost a precursor to what we can see statewide,” Mohler warned. The placement of the jet stream, a high-altitude river of air running from the Pacific across the United States, is a key factor playing into the state’s unusually wet and snowy May. The meandering jet stream has hammered California with a series of storms out of the South Pacific through winter and into spring. The atmospheric rivers that have made up much of this winter’s rain have bolstered the snowpack — a key source of the state’s water supply — filled reservoirs and streams, and lifted California out of drought conditions for the first time in nearly a decade. However, the storms typically move too fast and dump too much water at once to have the kinds of long-lasting benefits California’s parched soil needs. Experts say the widespread rainfall will likely delay the start of the grass fire season, which typically begins in May or early June, by at least a few weeks. Also, most of California’s native grasses have gone dormant for the season and won’t sprout from the latest storms, said Robert Krohn, a U.S. Forest Service meteorologist in Riverside County. “We’re just stalling for time going into the drier part of the year,” Krohn said. A report published this month by the National Interagency Fire Center found that while the fire season was off to a slow start, California can expect “above normal” potential for large wildfires this summer as heavy crops of grasses nourished by the wet winter dry out. Below-normal wildland fire potential is expected in the southern Sierra in June and July thanks to the heavy snowpack slowly melting. But heavy grass loads and the high number of dead trees in the Sierra foothills will lead to above-normal fire potential in many lower-elevation valleys. Southern California experienced the typical transition from cool, rainy weather to a warmer, drier pattern in April, and most storms that hit the West Coast were too far north or weren’t wet enough to provide widespread rain, according to the National Interagency Fire Center’s outlook report. The study said cooler temperatures could help Southern California during its fire season. But by June, the mountains and forests around the San Francisco Bay Area as well as the Sacramento Valley and nearby foothills are projected to have above-normal fire potential. The areas with above-normal fire potential are expected to expand north to the Oregon border in August. The report also noted that there are a large number of dead and downed trees and plants in the northern Sacramento Valley because of a heavy snowstorm in February that caused extensive damage. That will increase the potential for significant wildfires. In 2017, heavy rains in Northern California were followed by devastating fires that hit the wine country. Southern California received the bulk of its rain that year in the late fall and early winter before the spigot was completely shut off by March, essentially “flash-drying” the landscape, Krohn said. This season, the storms have been stretched out, giving communities time to prepare. Once the storms are gone, the area is poised to see some grass fire activity within two or three weeks after the final rainfall. “Take advantage,” Mohler said. “Take this window — don’t get a false sense of security — to clear your property while moistures are up. Work on evacuation plans. Almost take this as a call to action. This doesn’t happen very often.” Officials are particularly concerned about the yellow bloom of the invasive plant “Brassica nigra,” commonly known as black mustard, that have covered hillsides throughout the Santa Monica Mountains and much of the West. The tough plant germinates early in winter before native plants have taken hold, shoots up more than 6 feet tall, hogs the sunlight with its thick stalks and lays down a deep system of roots that beat out native plants for water. The weeds tend to dry up by July or August, and along with invasive European grasses serve as kindling during Southern California’s long wildfire season. In Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, prescribed burns that typically happen in spring may have to wait until summer, park spokesman Mike Theune said. That could include one in the area near the General Sherman tree set for a few weeks from now, Theune said. Even those burns will only happen if conditions are right and firefighters aren’t busy battling a blaze elsewhere. “What our concern becomes is, eventually the grasses and other vegetation will dry out. We don’t want to let our guard down. We want to remain vigilant because at some point a wildfire will happen,” he said. “Just because it’s raining now — four months from now, six months from now, no one is going to remember when everything is dried or cured.” Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/southern-californias-rainy-winter-portends-more-wildfire-disasters/ar-AABRk9b

The clarity of Lake Tahoe's cobalt blue water improved last year from its worst level in a half-century after weather and runoff returned to more normal conditions at the alpine lake straddling the California-Nevada line. A dinner plate-sized disc used to measure clarity was visible at an average depth of 70.9 feet (21.6 meters) in 2018, scientists at the University of California, Davis, Tahoe Environmental Research Center said Thursday. That's an improvement of 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) from 2017 when a winter with unusually heavy snow followed years of drought, sending sediment into the scenic lake known for its pine tree-lined beaches and ski resorts. The research center typically releases its annual clarity findings in the spring after analyzing the data it gathers each month in the previous year. Scientists hope efforts to combat threats to clarity posed by development and climate change will eventually return Lake Tahoe to its historical clear depth of 100 feet (30.5 meters). Dozens of public and private partners have been working to reduce stormwater pollution from roads and urban areas and restore streams and floodplains to reduce the amount of fine particles and nutrients that can cloud the lake, research center director Geoffrey Schladow said. Clarity can swing widely day to day and year to year due to weather conditions and the flow from streams that can accelerate or slow algae growth and erosion that sends sediment particles into the water, he said. "In 2018, Lake Tahoe's clarity regained the expected seasonal patterns that were disrupted by the extreme conditions of the previous year," Schladow said. Scientists took 26 individual depth readings in 2018, including one in March that exceeded 100 feet (30.5 meters) of clarity. The worst readings typically are in the summer, and the best are in fall and winter. A reading of 59.7 feet (18 meters) in 2017 was the worst in the 51 years Tahoe's clarity has officially been recorded. The second worst was 64.1 feet (20 meters) in 1997. "We are thrilled to see Lake Tahoe's clarity improving from the all-time low of just 60 feet in 2017," said Darcie Goodman Collins, CEO of the League to Save Lake Tahoe. "These results encourage us to continue restoring critical habitat and improving our urban areas to keep pollution from entering our lake." The new clarity measurement is in line with the five-year average of 70.3 feet (21.4 meters) — an improvement of nearly a foot (30 centimeters) from the previous five-year average. Clarity was best when it first was recorded in 1968, with an average depth of 102.4 feet (31.2 meters). The disc used to measure it typically was visible at depths of 85 feet (30 meters) or deeper through the 1970s and hovered near the worst levels during a severe drought in the late 1990s. Since then, efforts have been underway to restore natural wetlands and meadows displaced by past development. Those areas play an important role in filtering water before it enters the lake, Schladow said. "Seasonal weather extremes will most likely drive greater swings in clarity from year to year in the future, so it's imperative we continue to invest in the lake's restoration to combat new and emerging threats," said Joanne Marchetta, executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/lake-tahoes-famed-water-gets-clearer-after-all-time-low/ar-AABRMva

In addition to disrupting outdoor activities over the holiday weekend, thunderstorms will bring lightning dangers and the risk of damage from portions of the Midwest to the Northeast through Sunday. People from the lower Great Lakes and Ohio Valley to the central Appalachians will need to keep an eye to the sky while cooking out, swimming, hiking or attending parades and memorial ceremonies over the holiday weekend. After severe storms spawned a few tornadoes in eastern Iowa and western Illinois on Friday, AccuWeather meteorologists expect a new round of severe weather to ignite from central Illinois to central New York and Pennsylvania, mainly during Saturday afternoon and evening. Indianapolis is included in this corridor, where numerous festivities are ongoing for the Indy 500. Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo and Syracuse, New York; Pittsburgh and Erie, Pennsylvania; and Morgantown, West Virginia, may also face the feisty storms, with the primary risks being hail, damaging winds and downpours. However, the necessary ingredients may come together for an isolated tornado or two to spin up, mainly near the eastern Great Lakes. "While the worst of the severe weather is expected around the southern Great Lakes, showers and thunderstorms can spread over New England and the mid-Atlantic Saturday afternoon and night," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said. Sunday is expected to bring about yet another risk of thunderstorms and severe weather. "Another round of thunderstorms that may ignite around Iowa and northern Missouri later Saturday may sweep across the Lower Midwest states and into the mid-Atlantic Sunday into Sunday night," Pydynowski said. Within this corridor, areas from central Indiana through Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, northern Virginia and western Maryland may be at greatest risk for the storms to turn severe.Similar to Saturday, all modes of severe weather will once again be possible, with damaging winds, downpours and hail being the most common characteristics of the storms. The storms can wander into the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metro areas late Sunday afternoon and evening. "Even in the absence of severe weather, anyone with plans over this extended holiday weekend is reminded to seek shelter as soon as thunder is heard to avoid being struck by lightning," Pydynowski said. Motorists who encounter the storms on the roadways can anticipate reduced visibility from the downpours and blowing from vehicles, in addition to a heightened risk of hydroplaning while traveling at highway speeds. These poor driving conditions may be experienced at times this weekend on stretches of interstates 65, 69, 70, 79, 80, 81 and 90. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/dangerous-storms-to-rumble-from-illinois-to-pennsylvania-through-sunday/ar-AABTUD2

Bali's Mount Agung volcano erupted on Friday, spreading ash across the Indonesian island and forcing flights in and out of the airport to be cancelled. The eruption happened on Friday night and lasted four minutes and 30 seconds, lava was seen spurting out of the crater and down the slope for three kilometres. The Directorate General of Air Transportation said four flights to Bali were diverted and five flights out of the popular tourist destination were canceled because of volcanic ash. Volcanic ash rained and affected villages in the nearby regions of Karangasem and Bangli, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. No immediate evacuation was called as the villages are well within the safe zone, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency told the publication. Indonesia's Center of Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) said in a repor t: 'The ash column could not be observed. 'Thundering sounds from the eruption were heard adequately strong from the monitoring post.' Agung became active again in 2017 after more than a half century of slumber following a major eruption in 1963. This is the third time the volcano has erupted this month, with the other two incidents happening on May 12 and May 18. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/weather/balis-mount-agung-erupts-and-spews-lava-as-volcanic-ash-spreads-across-the-sky-forcing-all-flights-in-and-out-of-the-island-to-be-cancelled/ar-AABRS0s

The Mammoth Mountain resort in California's Eastern Sierra says it has had its snowiest May on record and skiing and boarding will continue into August. The resort said Friday the 29 inches (73.6 centimeters) that has fallen so far this month bests the old mark set in May 2015. Another 6 to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.4 centimeters) of snow is expected to fall on Sunday. The resort had so much snow during winter that it announced skiing and boarding would continue through the Fourth of July weekend. It now plans to extend the season into August, with no specific end date set. As of Friday, Mammoth had a season accumulations of 715 inches (1,816 centimeters) at the summit, and 489 inches (1,242 centimeters) at the main lodge. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/californias-mammoth-mountain-will-extend-skiing-into-august/ar-AABRPRt

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer and sweltering heat will have a firm grip on the Southeast through and beyond the extended holiday weekend. With the high heat in place, residents will have to use care with campfires, coals from grills and fireworks to avoid igniting new brush fires. The Yellow Bluff Fire has charred 450 acres north of Jacksonville, Florida, and led to the closure of a seven-mile stretch of I-95 in its vicinity on Thursday. The highway was opened on Friday morning, but officials warn the road can be closed again if conditions warrant. Nassau County Emergency Management reported that the fire is approximately 30 percent contained. Firefighters have contained the blaze west of I-95, but the fire continues to expand farther north. "[It] will likely be weeks before [containment is] 100% since there is no rain in the forecast for a week or more," the agency stated. The stagnant weather pattern can trap smoke from any brush fires or pollutants in the urban areas, leading to poor air quality. While there will be little rain to aid firefights and to impact holiday festivities, residents will have to take the necessary precautions to avoid heat-related illnesses. Temperatures will soar into the middle and upper 90s daily through Memorial Day in Montgomery, Alabama; Atlanta; Tallahassee and Tampa, Florida; and Columbia, South Carolina. Highs will also reach or exceed the century mark in some communities, such as Augusta, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. From Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, to Richmond, Virginia, temperatures will fluctuate from the 80s to the lower 90s this holiday weekend. "AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures above 100 F will be common throughout the South into Memorial Day due to sunshine and moderate humidity levels," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Max Vido. "Such values can put residents, especially older adults and children, at risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke," he said. Anyone participating in sports or other strenuous activities that cannot reschedule for the evening or early morning hours will need to take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water. Three of the eight 2019 NCAA Softball Tournament Super Regionals will be played in the Southeast amid this heat wave. "The first two games in the series at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Gainesville and Tallahassee, Florida, will be during the evening hours when the heat will not be as intense," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys. "However, if Game 3 is needed to complete any of the series, these games are scheduled during the hottest time of the day (in the afternoon) on Saturday and Sunday." The hot weather may lead to an early boom for business at beach communities, especially since it coincides with a busy holiday weekend, according to Vido. "While coastal communities will not be as hot as inland areas, residents and visitors should not anticipate much cooling even near the water," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff. Sunday and Memorial Day can bring a repeat of temperatures hitting 90 F in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Temperatures from this Memorial Day holiday weekend will enter record books in many communities. "Most high temperature records across the region stand in the 90s, so many cities are expected to consistently challenge records during the heat wave," Vido stated. "Many records date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s," Duff added. Montgomery, Alabama, will challenge or break daily record highs from the 1910s through the entire extended holiday weekend. The record high of 95 that Atlanta can tie on Memorial Day was set in 1916. Atlanta will also join Charleston, South, Carolina, and some other locations in challenging all-time May record highs. Even the nights will be warm across the South with records for the highest overnight lows in jeopardy. Vido anticipates the intense heat to last into at least the middle of next week. Also beyond Memorial Day, AccuWeather meteorologists are keeping a close eye on the Gulf of Mexico for potential tropical development later next week. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/unrelenting-heat-wave-to-raise-risk-for-brush-fires-in-southeast-into-beyond-memorial-day/ar-AABRJo9

So, what can you expect in terms of weather this Memorial Day weekend? You can look forward to plenty of sunshine with very little rain, but a strong ocean breeze. Unlike the towering thunderstorms we see all summer here in South Florida, the clouds this weekend will be relatively low and unable to produce much in the way of rain. The dry weather will continue through the weekend but enough moisture may begin to move back into the area by Monday leading to very spotty showers. Until then just expect a warm breeze with passing clouds. Lows each day will be in the upper seventies with highs just shy of ninety degrees. The gusty ocean breeze will cause problems up and down the coastline for the remainder of the weekend. A high risk of rip currents continues for all beaches. If you go, make sure you swim in protected areas and know the dangers of rip currents and how to get out of one. If you find yourself in a strong current, swim parallel to the shore to escape the current before trying to swim back to shore. If you’re at the beach and not in the water you will be dealing with wind gusts over twenty miles per hour at times throughout the rest of the weekend. Off the coast, boaters are urged to use caution off of Broward and Miami-Dade with a small craft advisory in effect in the Keys. Seas will be two to four feet with choppy conditions in exposed bays. There may be a few showers that develop off the coast and move quickly with the breeze. In and around these showers will be higher wind gusts. Otherwise, expect ten to twenty-knot winds and gusts near thirty knots. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/miami-weather-expect-mostly-sunny-skies-this-memorial-day-weekend/ar-AABTHx9

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer, but the weather for this holiday weekend will feel more like April across the southwestern United States. While temperatures rebounded on Friday across the Southwest after a cool stretch of weather earlier this week, a new storm dropping down from the Pacific Northwest will send temperatures back down to April-like values for all or a part of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The press of cooler air will begin to filter into Northern California on Saturday before encompassing the rest of the Southwest Sunday into Memorial Day. Sunday is expected to be the coolest day of the holiday weekend across most of California and Nevada. Temperatures may be held to the upper 50s and lower 60s in San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and Los Angeles in California. A high in only the middle 50s is expected for Reno, Nevada. When the reinforcing cool air settles over the interior Southwest, highs on Memorial Day can range from the lower 60s in Salt Lake City to the lower 70s in Las Vegas and near 80 in Phoenix. Seattle may actually be warmer than many locations in the southwestern U.S. as warmth builds across Washington on Memorial Day. More typical highs for the end of May range from the upper 60s along the California coast to the 80s in California's Central Valley and the middle 90s in the deserts of southeastern California and Arizona. "The cool stretch will add on to what has already been a cool month in the Southwest," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brian Thompson. "Temperatures are already running about 4 degrees Fahrenheit below average for May in Las Vegas and Phoenix." While the cool spell will continue to keep air conditioners quiet and cooling costs down, many residents outside of the deserts may want to keep spring jackets handy for outdoor festivities. That is especially true for events planned in the late evening and morning hours. "The weather may not be quite as good for hopping in the pool, but it will be far more comfortable for most other outdoor activities," Thompson said. The storm delivering the fresh cool air will also prevent widespread sunshine from gracing holiday picnics and parades. Instead, showers will be produced daily with the most numerous activity from the Sierra to northern Nevada. Sunday can be the most active day across California with showers and thunderstorms. "The storm producing the unsettled weather on Sunday can be potent enough to also produce hail from San Francisco to Sacramento and Fresno," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist John Gresiak. "Funnel clouds may also be seen in a few locations." "Some communities in California could approach its wettest May on record," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun said. San Francisco has had its third wettest May on record through May 23. Additional rainfall this weekend could climb them into the top two. Fresno is currently having its second wettest May on record with 2.17 inches of rain through May 23. About 0.70 of an inch of rain is needed to break the all-time record. May 2010 was the last time that measurable rain has dampened downtown Los Angeles during the last five days of the month. There can also be thunderstorms erupting over parts of the region, which can pose a threat to anyone outdoors. You are at risk of being struck by lightning as soon as thunder is heard. Hikers and campers who decide to still venture out into the mountains will want to ensure they have proper gear to stay dry and warm to avoid hypothermia. Snow can return to the highest elevations, causing I-80's Donner Summit to turn slippery. Download the free AccuWeather app to know if rain, a thunderstorm or snow is anticipated for where you are planning to spend the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios. Ahead of the storm, gusty winds will get kicked up across the interior Southwest this holiday weekend. Worse than making it difficult to keep plates and utensils from blowing away at picnics, the wind can once again elevate the fire danger in southeastern Arizona and southern New Mexico. Patchy blowing dust can impact motorists in the deserts. "After Memorial Day, it looks like the parade of storms will finally be coming to an end," according to Thompson. "Drier weather will return heading into early June with temperatures climbing back closer to average." Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/memorial-day-the-unofficial-start-to-summer-will-feel-more-like-april-from-california-to-arizona/ar-AABKjqv