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A big heat wave that blew up Texas with historically high May temperatures swells to the Ohio Valley and the East Coast, where highs are set to eject above peak summer levels until Sunday.
Abnormally hot weather – arriving more than a month before the summer solstice – is a sinister signal of the effects of man-made climate change, which increases the intensity, frequency and duration of heat waves and expands summer conditions deeper into spring and falls.
Every season except summer is getting shorter, a sign of problems for people and the environment
By Saturday, temperatures are expected to reach 90 for millions of people on densely populated Corridor 95 from Richmond to Boston. Burning temperatures – about 20 degrees above normal – in combination with moderately high humidity will increase the risk of heat-related illness.
When the heat peaks on Saturday, dozens of daily records are forecast; several places in the northeast can register their highest temperature ever observed in May and the hottest time recorded so early in the calendar year. Some places in the interior of the northeast can see temperatures higher than they usually do all summer.
Heat recommendations are in effect for much of the Acela corridor in the northeast, including Philadelphia, Newark, subway sections in New York, Hartford, Connecticut, Providence, RI and Boston, where heat indices reflect how hot it feels to be a factor in temperature and humidity – can vary between 100 and 105 degrees. This is the first heat warning issued in May by the National Weather Service in New York, dating back to at least 2006; the same goes for the Boston office.
The hot weather coincides with a busy weekend of outdoor activities, including a lot of college admissions and the 147th Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, where record levels are expected from the mid to 1990s.
The first case of excessive heat is often the most dangerous, as people are not yet accustomed to high temperatures. Outdoor workers, the elderly, young children and people without access to air conditioning are the most vulnerable to heat-related diseases.
“The sudden onset of hot temperatures at the beginning of the season after a relatively cool spring carries an increased risk of heat disease, unless appropriate precautions are taken,” the National Weather Service of Washington and Baltimore said in a special statement. “Reschedule stressful activities early in the morning or evening. Plan to wear light and loose clothing and look for shade from the sun. Plan frequent vacations in shady or air-conditioned environments. ”
DC can see the hottest May weather of at least a decade on Saturday
A staggering 125 million Americans are expected to experience temperatures above 90 degrees over the next few days. The heat has already accumulated in the southern United States, a product of sinking air, high pressure and “zonal” jet flow from west to east, which allows high temperatures to rise in the north.
Parts of Central Texas reached temperatures above 105 degrees on Thursday, and were ubiquitous in the South from the mid to 1990s. Dallas has the hottest May so far, and Abilene has seen a record 100 degrees during the month. San Antonio celebrated more 100-degree days this May than last summer.
Now airflow in front of a low-pressure strip approaching the Midwest and Ohio Valley will allow rising temperatures to rise up the east coast, with the 1990s from the Gulf Coast of Florida to northern Vermont and the Canadian border.
The heat will culminate on Saturday before being transferred to the immediate interstate Corridor 95 before the cold front on Sunday. By Monday, the maximum values of about 15 to 20 degrees cooler – more commensurate with seasonal norms – will return.
Monthly records in jeopardy in New England
Boston is forecast to be 91 degrees on Saturday and 94 degrees on Sunday. But just a few miles into the Merimac Valley, the peaks can be climbed to the upper ’90s. It is possible that with westerly winds and descending air, one or two places may decrease 100 degrees. Descent is the process in which air descending from high to low altitude is compressed and warmed, dried and further heated.
This will probably set a record in Boston for Sunday, where the current victory number is 93 degrees, set in 1959.
Hartford is expected to reach 97 or 98 degrees on Saturday and 96 degrees on Sunday. This will break daily records, if achieved, and threaten the all-time monthly record of 99, last set in 2010. The average high for the middle to the end of May is 73 degrees.
[This weekend] Significant early season #summer #heat and humidity arrive this weekend with heat index values of 95-102F on both days. Heat warnings have been issued for most places offshore. The lowest on Saturday night will struggle to fall below 70. #MAwx #RIwx #CTwx pic.twitter.com/WZGoJZhT2C
– NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) May 20, 2022
Average high temperatures in May in Hartford have risen by 1.5 degrees since 1950, and 90-degree days are almost twice as common, exacerbated by man-made climate change.
Worcester, Massachusetts, is expected to break its monthly record for two consecutive days. Since accounting began in 1892, the city has not jumped above 94 in May. The forecast is to reach 97 on Saturday and 97 on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the subway area of New York on Saturday and Sunday, the peaks will climb until the upper 90s west of the city. Central Park can move around 91 degrees, breaking the records of 93 and 96 for Saturday and Sunday, respectively, which are from 1996.
Middle Atlantic, southeast to crickets
The District of Columbia is expected to peak at 94 on Friday and 96 on Saturday. Sunday will be cooler, probably in the lower 90s. Saturday’s reading could set a record and, if it reaches 97 degrees, become the hottest temperature observed in DC so early in the year.
Philadelphia also has a great chance to break its record of 95 on Saturday.
In the southeast, more than 90s are expected on Friday, with several 100-degree readings possible in central North Carolina. Even the beaches of Wilmington, North Carolina, can reach 95 degrees. The mid- and upper-1990s will fill most of the Gulf coastal states and reach as far west as Texas.
Temperatures will finally drop after this weekend as a strong cold front passes through the region.
The same front brings snow to Denver after a day that peaked at about 90 degrees and caused areas of strong thunderstorms in the central United States.
Signs point to renewed warming in the middle of next week.
Jason Samenou contributed to this report.
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