Temperatures to surge toward 90 in Midwest, Northeast as June gets underway
Temperatures will continue to trend upward much of this week from the Midwest to the Northeast with some of the hottest weather of the year forecast to unfold across both regions, AccuWeather meteorologists say. High temperatures will resemble those of mid-July to early August in many cases.
Astronomical summer does not officially arrive until June 21, when the sun's most direct rays reach their farthest north point on the Earth's surface.
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From a historical average, the warmest three months of the year - also known as meteorological summer - across the United States are June, July and August with some exceptions in coastal areas and the northern tier. But, for most of the general public, summer began with Memorial Day weekend.
Even though humidity levels will be below typical July and August standards in most areas this week, strong late May and early June sunshine and dry soil conditions will give temperatures a boost, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist John Gresiak said.
With the exception of a rainstorm in New England and along the mid-Atlantic coast around May 20, the month has brought little rain to much of the northeastern quarter of the U.S. Abnormally dry to drought conditions were expanding, according to last week's United States Drought Monitor report.
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"In the case of this week in much of the Midwest and Northeast, the lack of rain and dry landscape will cause the local atmosphere to behave more like a desert," Gresiak said. "The sun will squeeze out every degree of the air during the day and will make it hotter by several degrees as opposed to if the ground was moist."
For much of the Great Lakes and Northeast, there is little to no chance of rain this week. The storm system that had some tropical characteristics and drenched parts of the Carolinas and Virginia over the holiday weekend will slowly shrivel up mainly south of the Pennsylvania and Ohio borders by Wednesday.
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"A strong area of high pressure at most levels of the atmosphere will allow temperatures to surge across portions of the Midwest and Northeast this week - especially the second half of the week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.
The hottest weather relative to the historical average will be across the northern tier of the Northeast and the southern parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Thursday looks to be the hottest day of the week for places like Burlington, Vermont, where the mercury is set to soar into the 90s, Gilbert said.
"Burlington could shatter its Thursday high-temperature record of 90 F, last reached in 2013," Gilbert said. "Typically, the Burlington area doesn't have its first 90-degree day until closer to the summer solstice." Even during the peak of the summer, the highest historical average temperature is about 83 for the Vermont city along Lake Champlain. Similar temperatures are also expected the day prior, with a high near 90 forecast for Burlington. The current record high for the date stands at 91, also set in 2013.
Farther south, some of the large metro areas will have highs more typical of midsummer, though still abnormally warm for late May or early June. In these types of situations, sprawling cities create a heat-island effect and end up being much warmer than their surroundings.
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Many of the major cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., are likely to have high temperatures in the 90s or upper 80s during the second half of this week. It is possible, where a cool water body such as an ocean, bay or large lake is nearby, that breezes may suppress afternoon temperatures several blocks inland from the shoreline.
In Chicago, high temperatures in the upper 80s are in store for Wednesday and Thursday.
"Pittsburgh could approach 90 degrees for the first time this year as the end of the week rolls around," Gilbert said. The Steel City doesn't typically reach 90 until June 22.
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Philadelphia typically hits 90 degrees in late May but has not yet done so. By Friday, the City of Brotherly Love may finally hit the 90-degree mark.
As Gresiak mentioned earlier, the heat cycle due to the ongoing dryness may cause temperatures to build faster than anticipated, and lead to high temperatures that are a few degrees warmer than they would otherwise be.
Once the vast areas of paved and concrete surfaces in the major cities thoroughly heat up, they will tend to give off that warmth at night.
However, in more rural areas, the dry air will continue to allow for cooler nighttime conditions. The setup this week may cause large differences in early-morning temperatures from cities to suburbs and countryside locations.
In addition to the warming trend will continue to be episodes of smoky conditions. The smoke is originating from fires in western and eastern Canada. Most of the smoke will reside at high levels of the atmosphere, but under certain conditions, the smoke can dip down to near the ground and lead to poor air quality.
AccuWeather forecasters say there are signs that a southward dip in the jet stream may be reinforced over the Northeast during the upcoming weekend. As this occurs, temperatures are likely to quickly trend downward once again.
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Along the leading edge of the push of much cooler air, locally gusty thunderstorms may erupt and travel from northeast to southwest across the region from Friday to Saturday.
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