July or October? Heat to challenge records across Midwest through the weekend
Midwesterners will be wondering if they should trade the trip to the pumpkin patch for the lake this weekend, as the mercury is forecast to soar for a few days.
After a hot car death in North Carolina at the end of September, Melissa Constanzer explains it is never too late in the season to consider the inside temperature of a closed car.
Despite the calendar's turn to October, Mother Nature will be throwing it back to summer in the Midwest into the remainder of the weekend, with temperatures expected to soar well into the 80s and 90s, say AccuWeather meteorologists. Temperatures in some areas could challenge all-time October records.
The early-fall heat will challenge dozens of records across at least 10 states from Colorado to Michigan through Sunday. The same weather system will also promote dry weather and worsening drought conditions in the region and farther east.
"Even though the calendar has turned to October, afternoon high temperatures in cities like Minneapolis will feel more like midsummer through the weekend," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.
Minneapolis is not the only city where records can fall over the next couple of days. Chicago; Duluth, Minnesota; Lansing, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; and Omaha, Nebraska; are among the at least 30 locales that could set daily record-high temperatures through Sunday.
A few monthly record high temperatures, for the entirety of October, are also in jeopardy, including in Grand Rapids, Michigan (the October record 89); Green Bay, Wisconsin (88); Minneapolis (92); and St. Cloud, Minnesota (91).
The warmer weather will build farther east on Sunday and Monday, including into portions of the eastern Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and interior Northeast.
While the hot weather may be disheartening for those who were hoping to head to pumpkin patches and participate in fall activities this weekend with a crisp in the air, there is a silver lining to the heat: a lack of summertime humidity.
"Dew points and humidity levels will not be nearly as high as they typically are in July," pointed out Pydynowski. "Because of this, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be around the same as the actual air temperature in many areas that are experiencing this early-October heat."
GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
• Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+
The practical effects of the heat include increased needs for watering due to worsening drought and higher evaporation rates, a need to stay hydrated when spending time outdoors and the running of air conditioners way later than typically occurs.
There will also be an increased risk of wildfires because of the recent dry conditions, along with gusty winds which will push the warm air in from the south. There remains a risk from eastern Colorado into the northern Plains into Sunday.
As quickly as the unseasonable heat builds, it will ebb.
"A cooler and more typical early-October air mass should return to much of the Midwest by Monday and Tuesday of this week," said Pydynowski.
The transition to cooler weather will occur as a storm emerges from the Rockies, bringing rain and thunderstorms to the northern portion of the Plains during the remainder of the weekend and parts of the Midwest to start the workweek.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Report a Typo
