The substantial heatwave that we have been warning about looks to finally crank up this week. Conditions will start off rather reasonable, but the heat and humidity will be in full-swing around mid-week. The entire NYC metro is likely to see several days above 90 degrees, with temps possibly roaring above 100 to close out the week!
Here comes summer: A heat wave is expected in NYC this week.
After a slow start to the season, with lots of rain and clouds, the weather has warmed significantly over the past week or two. This will come to a climax this week, when temperatures will reach near or over 90 degrees for several consecutive days. The heat will build as the week goes on, peaking by the end of the week and weekend. On Friday and Saturday in particular, forecast models suggest that temperatures could exceed 95 degrees and heat index values could exceed 100.
After several weeks of temperatures averaging largely below normal, the hemispheric weather pattern underwent a dramatic shift in early June. Since that time, much of the United States has observed temperatures above normal, with the lone exception being the Northeast states. That will change significantly beginning Friday, as a heat wave begins across a huge area of the Ohio Valley and Northeast – yes, including the urban corridor from Philadelphia to New York City and Boston.
The heat is expected to continue for quite a while. While a heat wave technically was observed in parts of New Jersey a few weeks ago, it will pale in comparison to the temperatures which are approaching starting this weekend – which may very well be the hottest of the year. The heat is expected to persist until the end of next week as a huge ridge builds across the Eastern and Central United States.
It is not often that we can confidently state “A heat wave is coming” so many days in advance, yet here we are.
A heat wave is coming.
Granted, it hasn’t been easy pinning down the details of this pattern. But forecast model guidance has largely pointed most meteorologists in the right direction when it comes to this upcoming bout of heat. A combination of tropical forcing signals and the wave pattern in the North Pacific Ocean helped tip the hand of the hemispheric evolution, one that signified the development of an anomalous ridge along the East Coast.