Memorial Day Weekend Weather Forecast: Wet South, Northeast
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holiday/memorial-day

A stubborn weather pattern will lock in place over the holiday weekend. Here's how it could impact your plans.

Jonathan Erdman
ByJonathan Erdman
11 hours agoUpdated: May 19, 2026, 5:00 pm EDTPublished: May 19, 2026, 8:15 am EDT
Memorial Day

A view of U.S flags were placed as hundreds gather to attend the annual Memorial Day observance held at the Presidio Cemetery in San Francisco, California, United States on Monday, May 26, 2025.

(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Memorial Day weekend weather across the U.S. will be fairly locked in place each day, with a threat of showers and storms in the South and Northeast, but nice weather in much of the West.

Rain Threat

The threat of showers and thunderstorms will be most persistent in a zone from the western Gulf Coast and the lower Mississippi Valley to parts of the East.

Areas in the darker green contours on the map below have the highest chance of these showers with locally heavy rain, especially in parts of central and eastern Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.

That said, there will be some dry hours, especially in the lighter green shaded areas below.

So, if you have outdoor plans, have a backup in place in case showers and storms threaten. You can set rain and lightning alerts on The Weather Channel app that can give you advanced notice of any of these showers and storms this weekend.

(MAPS: 7-Day US Rainfall Forecasts)

Memorial Day weekend rainfall forecast

Hot Or Not?

Fortunately, we're not anticipating a bunch of record highs or lows this weekend, certainly nothing resembling the searing heat we've seen in the East this week.

Parts of the Northeast, where showers or cloudy skies are more persistent, may see days with highs stuck either in the upper 50s or 60s. So you may need a light jacket, even in the afternoon, in these areas.

And with the exception of Florida, southern heat should be relatively muted, with highs in the 80s and even a few 70s.

Some warmth in the Northwest will spread into the Northern Plains and upper Midwest as the weekend wears on, with highs in the 70s and 80s becoming increasingly common.

(MAPS: Daily US Highs/Lows)

DCT 14

Muggy Or Comfortable?

While we don't expect a lot of extreme heat, it's also worth asking if you'll be sweating more than usual outside.

The map below shows our forecast dew points for Memorial Day afternoon. Generally, dew points in the 50s start to feel a tad humid, 60s feels somewhat muggy, and 70s feel oppressively muggy.

(MET 101: Why Dew Point Beats Relative Humidity)

As you can see below, parts of the Deep South will be quite muggy this weekend, but nothing too off the charts for late May.

Parts of the mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys will be somewhat humid, while the air should be relatively comfortable elsewhere.

In areas where dew points are in the 50s or lower, you may be able to open windows and air out for at least a few hours, if pollen or dust counts are low.

DCT 27

Our thoughts are with all who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, as well as their families this holiday weekend.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.​


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