AccuWeather.com

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

Sep 2, 2010; 12:45 AM ET

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September got underway on not only a hot, but also a record-breaking, note across the Northeast on Wednesday. September's sizzling start followed a record warm meteorological summer for all of the major mid-Atlantic cities.

A ridge of high pressure anchored overhead again allowed temperatures to soar into the 90s throughout the Eastern Seaboard on Wednesday.

While all eyes were on Hurricane Earl, bright sunshine sent temperatures to 97 degrees in Atlantic City, N.J. That broke the Wednesday's record high of 94 degrees from 1941.

A sampling of other record highs set on Wednesday is given below with the old record in parentheses.

--Newark, N.J.: 98 degrees (96 degrees from 1953)

--Providence, R.I.: 95 degrees (93 degrees from 1980)

--Concord, N.H.: 95 degrees (93 degrees from 1953)

--Bridgeport, Conn.: 93 degrees (90 degrees from 1953)

--Burlington, Vt.: 92 degrees (89 degrees from 1953)

Hot temperatures will continue to bake much of the Northeast on Thursday.

New York City's Central Park fell 1 degree shy of the day's record high, which was 97 degrees from 1953. Record highs, however, were set at the city's two major airports.

Wednesday's high of 92 degrees at Caribou, Maine, established numerous records. The high established a new record for the date and September. The month's previous record high was 91 degrees, set on Sept. 7, 1945.

Wednesday also marked the fourth straight 90-degree day in Caribou. Not since late July 1963 has Caribou endured such a stretch.

The record heat on Wednesday followed a warm meteorological summer (defined as the period from June to August) across the Northeast. In fact, this past summer is now the warmest on record for all of the major mid-Atlantic cities.

Temperatures in New York City this summer averaged 77.8 degrees. That narrowly exceeded the summer of 1966 and its average of 77.3 degrees.

This summer's average temperature in Philadelphia was 79.63 degrees, which broke the old record of 78.53 degrees from the summer of 1995.

Temperatures in Washington, D.C., averaged 81.3 degrees over the summer. The summer of 1980 and its average of 80.0 degrees previously held the record.

In addition, high temperatures in Washington, D.C., averaged 90.2 degrees this summer. That marks the first time since records began 1872 that high summertime temperatures averaged over 90 degrees.

Related to the Story:

Thirty-Degree Temperature Dip Aims for the Northeast

First Heat Wave of the Century for Portland, Maine

Northeast Radar

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