Friday's forecast: Soggy East, dry West
The U.S. will be divided into a mostly wet eastern half and mostly dry western half on Friday.
West: Nearly the entire western half of the country should be clear Friday. Warm to hot temperatures will bake much of California and Southwest, while the northern Rockies and much of the Plains remain in the cool 50s and 60s.
Central U.S.: A wet day is likely throughout the Mississippi Valley all the way from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, especially in the morning.
East: The East Coast will be dry in the morning before showers and storms move in later in the day and into the evening as a strong cold front heads east.
Weather history for Oct. 3: In 1979, a tornado killed 3 people and injured 500 in Connecticut. In 2002, Hurricane Lili hit the Louisiana coast; a wind gust of 91 mph was recorded in Acadiana.
In 2003, the temperature dropped to a record low of 29 degrees in Pittsburgh and 40 at JFK Airport in New York City.