(AP) — A bubble of dry air will settle eastward over the Upper Midwest today. However, surrounding this zone of partial sunshine will be showers and heavier thunderstorms that form a ring from the interior Northeast to the middle part of the Mississippi Valley to the Great Plains.

Storms are most likely to be severe on a regional level over the Central states. A few locally drenching storms are likely to erupt over the Florida Peninsula.

Extreme heat will continue over much of Texas under intense June sunshine.

Aside from clouds and showers over Montana and northern Wyoming, and a few storms in eastern Colorado, much of the balance of the West will be dry and sunny. Heat is forecast to build over the Southwest later this week.

Tropical Storm Alex has moved out into the Atlantic, becoming extra-tropical, and is no longer a concern. Tropical development elsewhere in the Atlantic region is not expected over the next few days.