Morning Roundup: The heat continues

After what has been a summer without much in the way of excessive heat, this current weather has gone against that theme. Yesterday’s high temperatures soared well into the 90s in many locations, and when combined with dewpoints in the low 70s, heat indexes were often above 100 degrees. Some areas such as Newark and Central Park had its warmest temperature readings in almost two years.

Some highs from yesterday:

Newark, NJ: 98

Central Park, NY: 93

LaGuardia Airport, NY: 94

JFK Airport, NY: 89

Much of the same looks to continue for today, with temperatures soaring well into the 90s. In parts of NE NJ and other areas in and around NYC, mid to upper 90s are likely. Once again, it looks to be a day where it is very important to stay hydrated and not overly exert yourself if you are outdoors.

The one bright side is that dewpoints will be a little lower today than yesterday. This is because a cold front will be approaching from the west, which will help the winds have more of a westerly component, which is a dry wind that downslopes off the Appalachian Mountains. Thus, heat indexes probably will be a few degrees lower today than yesterday. However, this also means that coastal areas will be a few degrees warmer than yesterday; so whoever did not reach 90 degrees yesterday will most likely reach it today.

Other weather highlights include:

  • Daytime heating and the approaching cold front could trigger some isolated showers and thunderstorms, some of which could produce heavy rain. However, the front will be weakening and the westerly winds will be causing our low-level moisture to mix into the rest of the atmosphere as opposed to staying trapped at the surface. Thunderstorms like a moist surface and dry mid-levels, so these westerly winds and the weakening front will remove some of those favorable conditions. This will keep most areas dry and any thunderstorms relatively weak.
  • A shortwave disturbance looks to move in on Monday night and early Tuesday morning. This could trigger some showers and thunderstorms, though the drier air plus it being nighttime (no heating from the sun) could keep this activity weak, albeit not as isolated as the activity this afternoon.
  • Tuesday looks to be another hot day but even less humid than today, and also a few degrees cooler. Temperatures could still hit 90 degrees. A secondary cold front may trigger more showers and thunderstorms in the late-afternoon or early-evening, but these are also not expected to be strong.
  • Cooler, less humid, and more pleasant weather builds back in for Wednesday through Friday. An upper-level low to our north may provide some cumulus clouds from time-to-time; however, but we should remain rain-free. Temperatures will generally be in the l0w-to-mid 80s during this period.