An early heat wave is expected across much of the Eastern United States this week, with record-breaking temperatures likely in parts of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast by the middle of the week.
The surge of summerlike warmth is being driven by a persistent high-pressure system parked over the Eastern United States that is drawing north a steady stream of warm air, said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center. As a result, temperatures are forecast to climb well beyond seasonal averages, with the potential for some places to be as much as 25 degrees above normal.
“Especially on Wednesday,” he said. “That’s the day we’re expecting to see the most records fall or at least tied.”
In the Northeast, Mr. Pereira said temperatures could reach the upper 70s and mid-80s by Wednesday, including in New York City, where the average high in April is typically in the low- to mid-60s. Farther south, parts of the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast could approach 90 degrees. In Washington, the average high temperature in April is around 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but Wednesday’s high could reach 93 degrees.
The burst of heat is expected to be short-lived for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The warmth is forecast to linger through Thursday before a weather system pushes south from the Ohio Valley into the northern Mid-Atlantic.
The Southeast, however, is forecast to hold onto the warmth a little longer. Luke Culver, a meteorologist at the Atlanta office of the National Weather Service, said temperatures are likely to reach 90 degrees there on Friday and Saturday. If that happens, he said it would be the earliest 90-degree reading on record for the city. He added that hitting 90 degrees at any point in April was unusual for Atlanta.
“There have been only four days in the history of Atlanta that temperatures have reached 90 degrees or more in April,” he said. “Those were in 1980, 1986 and 1925.”
High temperatures are not the only effect of the persistent high-pressure system. The chance of rain is expected to remain very low, a pattern that forecasters at the Atlanta office of the National Weather Service said could worsen ongoing drought conditions across the state. Southern parts of Georgia are already experiencing exceptional drought, the most severe category, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
But, even in the Southeast, the heat won’t be staying for long. Mr. Pereira said a cold front is expected to sweep across the East on Sunday.
“And then by the early part of next week we’re going to have a cool high pressure system in place,” he said. “That will give us a break from the heat.”
Nazaneen Ghaffar is a Times reporter on the Weather team.
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