People living in the Midwest and Northeast will be very happy to hear that forecasters are calling for an end to the suffocating heat wave that has much of the country in its grips. Temperatures across the Midwest and Northeast are going to drop by the weekend wherein highs will be 10 to 15 degrees lower than the 90s that are currently topping out thermometers now. There will also be a very noticeable drop in humidity across the Great Lakes and interior Northeast as well as in neighboring Canada.

While the end to the heat wave is certainly welcome news for millions of Americans, the National Weather Service is warning that strong thunderstorms are in the forecast for the Great Lakes area of the country and for the Northeastern states Friday through Saturday evening. How severe those storms will be is yet to be known but many forecasters believe that some of the storms could produce large damaging hail, high gusting winds and periods of heavy downpours of rain.

The northern Great Lakes region of the nation may see some severe thunderstorms by mid-day Friday. The rest of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley should see severe weather by Saturday and then by Sunday, the thunderstorms will move into the Northeast bringing with them thunder, cloud-to-ground lightening, gusting winds and some periods of heavy rain.

After the thunderstorms move through and the rain cools down the eastern third of the nation by the weekend, more pleasant weather is in the forecast for the region next week. Temperatures next week will only reach to about 80 degrees which is actually lower than the average mid-July temps of around 85.

Elsewhere in the nation, a rather wacky weather pattern will bring rainfall and possible flash flooding to the South and Southwest early next week. There are already flood watches in effect for portions of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. When the rain does come at the start of next week, it will bring with it temperatures that are about 20 degrees cooler than normal for this time of the year.