by Alex Sosnowski, Expert Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com
NEW YORK, NY – AccuWeather reports a heat wave will build, then recede in the East this week with the most humid air focused on the Interstate-95 corridor.
According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, New York City had its hottest day of the year so far on Tuesday with a high of 95 F.
“New York City could match that temperature again on Wednesday,” Abrams said.
The combination of 85-95 F air, high humidity, light winds and intense sunshine will push AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures to the triple digits in many locations of the I-95 corridor and the Ohio Valley.
In much of the Northeast, the peak of the heat and humidity will be on Wednesday.
These conditions will make it risky for extended, strenuous physical activity outdoors and can pose a danger for the elderly and those with respiratory problems.
For some cities in the Northeast, this will not be the first heat wave of the year. A heat wave in the northern states constitutes three days in a row with temperatures hitting 90 F or higher. In part of the New York City area, this will be the second heat wave of the summer season. In Philadelphia, it will be the third. In Washington, D.C., it is the fourth with a month’s worth of 90-degree days since early May.
Boston has yet to have a heat wave this year and has struggled to hit 90.
According to AccuWeather Long Range Expert Paul Pastelok, a series of fronts will gradually trim humidity and temperatures across the Midwest and into the Appalachians starting later this week and continue into the middle of August.
“While humidity levels will drop along the I-95 corridor, daytime temperatures are likely to still climb well into the 80s to the lower 90s after the humidity departs by Friday,” Pastelok said. “The most noticeable cooling will occur from the Midwest to the Appalachians.”
The first front will push across the Northeast on Thursday bringing the risk for showers and thunderstorms. Some of these storms could produce heavy rainfall.
“Thursday is the type of day in the Northeast, where the morning may feel worst than the evening as the less humid air works in,” Abrams said.
The arrival of thunderstorms on Thursday could break the heat wave one-day short across the Interstate 95 Corridor from New York to Baltimore. Should the storms arrive late in the afternoon after peak heating, most areas are likely to reach the 90-degree mark.
However, if the storms arrive earlier in the afternoon, many places may fail to reach 90.
Less humid air settling into the coastal Northeast this weekend will allow the nights to cool a bit, especially in the suburbs.
In the South, some cooling will reach the southern Appalachians at times, but no lasting relief from hot and humid conditions is likely toward the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coast.
“There can be a brief spike in temperature and humidity from the Midwest to the Northeast during the first couple of weeks of August,” Pastelok said. “These spikes will tend to occur the day of or just ahead of a frontal passage.”
The weather during the first part of August will still be warm enough for swimming most days along the Atlantic Seaboard, but perhaps on the cool side around the Great Lakes.
High temperatures from New York City to Washington, D.C., will generally be in the 80s beyond this weekend into mid-August. High temperatures around the Great Lakes region will tend to be in the 70s to lower 80s most days during the first two weeks of August.
Ahead of each front will be a round of showers and thunderstorms, including in New England, where pockets of drought continue. Overall though, most places from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic states will have fewer rainy days during early August, when compared to June and early July.
Pastelok stated that his team will be monitoring the potential for Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic moisture to feed up from the South during the first week of August. It may be a concern for flooding rain along the I-95 corridor of the mid-Atlantic and Carolinas.
Continue to check with AccuWeather.com for the latest details on the cold outbreak and any snowstorms. This entire weather report, including quotes and images are brought to you courtesy of AccuWeather.com.
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