Warm air spread across much of the Northeast on Friday, bringing summery weather that is expected to continue through the weekend, with many locations likely to break into the 90s.
The heat was forecast to ease slightly Monday and Tuesday, and then crank back up by Wednesday, with next week’s hot temperatures likely to be higher and longer lasting than those this weekend.
While this weekend may feel unpleasant, it’s the heat next week that has forecasters with the National Weather Service sounding alarm bells. With the school year ending and World Cup festivities beginning, more people across the region are likely to be outdoors then, said Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.
“When we’re starting to message now for something that’s next week, I think you know what that means,” Mr. Kleebauer said on Friday.
The humidity will make it feel worse.
Temperatures were climbing on Friday across the Northeast, as winds from the south scooped up warm air and pushed it north. By 2 p.m. Friday, New York City had already reached 87 degrees and Philadelphia 90 degrees.
The hottest temperatures this weekend were expected on Saturday in most locations, with temperatures climbing as much as 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. Washington, D.C., was predicted to reach the mid-90s, with Philadelphia, New York and Boston likely to hit the low 90s.
A cold front will bring a chance of scattered thunderstorms and a push of cooler air Saturday night from Baltimore into New England, but the region will continue to hold onto some of the heat on Sunday, with temperatures forecast to be about 10 degrees above normal.
The weekend’s temperatures will not be nearly as extreme as they can be in the thick of summer, but Mr. Kleebauer said the warmth will feel significant because the weather has been cool in recent weeks and people have not acclimated to summer conditions.
“It’s going to feel pretty hot,” Mr. Kleebauer said. “D.C., Baltimore, Philly and New York, it’s going to feel warm in the city.”
The humidity is also expected to rise, and Saturday will feel stickier than Friday.
“Saturday and Sunday might be the first taste of humidity, but it won’t be oppressive by any means,” said Matt Wunsch, a meteorologist with the Weather Service office in Upton, N.Y.
Forecasters stopped short of calling the weekend weather a heat wave.
There is no single formal definition for the weather term “heat wave,” but meteorologists generally use it for any period of well-above-normal temperatures that lasts more than two days.
Some local Weather Service offices have informal definitions for their regions, and the one serving New York City considers three days of temperatures of 90 degrees and above to be a heat wave.
This is unlikely to happen over the weekend, Mr. Wunsch said.
But forecasters think it could happen next week.
Amy Graff is a Times reporter covering weather, wildfires and earthquakes.
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