AccuWeather.com

By Kirstie Hettinga, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

Jul 30, 2010; 11:30 AM ET

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Angela Torres, 9, of Providence, R.I., left, runs through a stream of water spraying from an open fire hydrant as her brother Jefferson Torres, 8, center right, collects water in a bucket, in Providence, Wednesday, July 28, 2010. Temperatures have been unusually warm for Rhode Island in the month of July. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

July 2010 has been a month of epic heat from New York City to Washington, D.C.

AccuWeather.com friend and weather blogger Mark Vogan breaks down the records and the overall hot trend in his blog "Weather and Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan."

Here's a summary of Vogan's findings:

According to Vogan, cities on the East Coast including New York City, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia experienced July weather that was roughly equivalent to weather found in Singapore, the rain forests of Brazil, and the coast of Saudi Arabia.

While 90-degree weather was hard to find in New York last July, this year it was the rule rather than the exception.

A warm, humid air mass over Virginia and the Carolinas caused temperatures to skyrocket in New York and Philadelphia for the first 10 days of the month.

During that time frame, Newark, N.J. had four-straight days with temperatures of 100 degrees or higher. Washington, D.C. had one day climb to 102 F, while Baltimore, Md. broke a 27-year record and vaulted to 105 degrees.

Humidity throughout the region kept temperatures oppressive, even overnight.

A second heat wave helped close out the month and was characterized by extreme AccuWeather.com RealFeel® temperatures. Baltimore felt like 112 degrees on one day, and the daily "low" temperatures continued to simmer, with the low in Philadelphia registering 83 F one day.

Both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore experienced 21 days with temperatures above 90 degrees this month. Baltimore also racked up an incredible six days with temperatures 100 degrees or hotter.

Cities in New York and New Jersey also had two to three weeks of extremely high temperatures.

And there was no escaping the heat, as even parts of New England climbed into the 100s, and islands off of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard jumped into the 90s.

Vogan discusses several possible explanations to why July has been such a pressure cooker in 2010, including: a very dry spring, an intense winter that led to the collapse of El Nino, and a warm Atlantic.

With such a record-breaking summer already on the books, people may be wondering what this winter holds in store for them. Look for AccuWeather.com Long Range Meteorologist and Chief Hurricane Expert Joe Bastardi's winter 2010 forecast early next week.

Related to the story:

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