Summer isn’t wasting any time.
A “significant and extremely dangerous heat wave” is expected to send temperatures soaring across much of the United States in the coming days, stretching from the Central Plains to the East Coast, according to forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center.
“This will certainly be the first big heat wave of 2025 for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, as well as a large portion of the Midwest,” said Alex Lamers, a forecaster with the center, a part of the National Weather Service.
Temperatures at the end of spring have been relatively mild across the East. Mr. Lamers warned that those cooler-than-normal temperatures may mean that this sudden first burst of extreme heat is all the more dangerous because people in many areas have not acclimated to it yet.
When will the heat arrive?
The warmer temperatures have been trapped over the West for a little while, but on Thursday the warm air mass accompanying them will begin moving east.
The Central Plains and Upper Midwest, from Texas up through Minnesota, will begin to heat up on Friday. By Saturday, the heat will have reached the East Coast, stretching all the way from Denver to Washington, D.C.
On Sunday, while most of the Eastern U.S. will be above average, there are some outliers on the edge of the weather pattern where thunderstorms may form. These thunderstorms are often called ridge riders: They ride around the bubble of warm, moist air, and their rainfall and cloud cover will potentially lower afternoon temperatures in the Northeast, including New York City, and some coastal areas along the Gulf Coast.
But by Monday and Tuesday, the Northeast is expected to be well above average, potentially even warmer than the Southeast.
Here are the concerns with this heat wave.
Many cities across the Midwest, the Great Lakes, the Mid-Atlantic States and the Northeast have not recorded a single 90-degree day so far this year. And those that have, like the suburbs of New York City, have recorded only one or two.
The number of 90-degree days is likely to double, triple or even quadruple by next week. Temperatures will soar well above 90 degrees and will feel even hotter, especially this weekend into the middle of next week.
Heat is likely to reach dangerous levels over much of the Central and Eastern United States. Forecasters have particular concern for the Ohio Valley, the eastern Great Lakes, parts of the South away from the coast and much of the East Coast, where the heat will be most persistent.
Not only will temperatures be warm, but the air will also be thick with humidity. This will make the temperatures feel more relentlessly oppressive during the day and muggy overnight.
Numerous records are likely to be broken, and light winds, sunny days and a lack of overnight cooling will significantly increase the danger.
“Things like cooler nights and stronger breezes are a natural way of providing heat relief. When these don’t exist, heat can become very dangerous for anyone who does not limit or break their exposure by seeking out an air-conditioned building or some other form of relief,” Mr. Lamers said.
The persistence of a heat wave for an extended period is another factor that can increase the danger of heat, and the duration of this heat wave is likely to last longer in the Eastern United States.
When will it end?
While the weather computer models are in agreement on when the heat wave begins, they disagree on when it will end. But generally, the heat wave is forecast to persist through at least the middle of next week.
Judson Jones is a meteorologist and reporter for The Times who forecasts and covers extreme weather.
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