Warm, drier stretch of weather coming to the Northeast
Days with dry warm weather have been limited in the Northeast but a small bunch of both is on the way later this week.
Wildfires have caused air quality problems in parts of the central and eastern U.S. Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter shares how you can monitor air quality hazards on the free AccuWeather app.
Long stretches of dry, warm weather have been in short supply in the Northeast since midspring, but one is on the way for the second half of this week, in between early-week storms and more rain during the upcoming weekend.
For example, in New York City, following highs in the 60s on Monday and the 70s on Tuesday, highs will be well into the 80s on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with no rain in the forecast. When factoring in humidity levels, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be in the 90s at times, and it should feel like summertime.
"Much of the Northeast should be able to enjoy a two- to three-day stretch with no rain from Wednesday to Friday this week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
"Some places may go a bit longer after storms depart on Tuesday and where rain holds off until later in the weekend," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. "Still, while spotty shower activity cannot be ruled out on Wednesday and Thursday, most places on those two days should be dry."
Some rain will encroach on Friday over parts of the central Appalachians to the lower part of the mid-Atlantic. This moist zone will then expand northward over the weekend to envelop much of the central Appalachians and the upper mid-Atlantic to the southern part of New England.
Some areas from northern New York to northern New England could be dry from Wednesday through Sunday, a five-day period.
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The warm and drier weather will help agricultural and construction operations catch up to some extent. However, due to the high number of rainy days so far during the warm season, outdoor projects will need many more dry days to fully return to schedule.
For some crops that have not yet been sown due to muddy fields, alternative crops or skipping this year's planting may be necessary due to the shortened growing season. The frequent wet conditions raise the risk of fungus and the need for undesirable, harsh, expensive chemicals to keep the plants and crops healthy.
The wet soil has made flash flooding more of a concern than would typically be the case. When the soil is saturated, the landscape cannot absorb the rain, and runoff is almost immediate and excessive.
When might the sky turn deep blue again?
The middle and second half of the week will bring an increase in the amount of sunshine. But as many have noticed on clear days of late, the sun and the surrounding sky appear hazy.
It is not uncommon for hazy conditions to occur on warm summer days, where human-made and natural particulates linger in the air for a long time. But in this case, much of the haze is actually smoke from widespread, large wildfires in central Canada.
At times, the smoke can dip down to lower levels of the atmosphere, creating a thick haze, leading to a thick campfire smell and irritating the nose, eyes and lungs. Much of the time, the smoke will be high-flying and can dim and block the sun. When the sun is dimmed, it can shave high temperatures by a few degrees during the day and tend to keep temperatures somewhat elevated at night.
Days with a deep blue, hazeless sky may be very rare in the Midwest and Northeast until at least the middle of the summer. The common source region for clean air in central Canada is contaminated with smoke.
On days when the winds are from the northwest, the smoke can be carried down directly from central Canada. As this smoke becomes scattered over a broad area, even winds from the west or north can still lead to smoky conditions. When winds are out of the south, the natural humidity from the ocean and vegetation and human-made pollutants can lead to the more typical summer haze. In the Southern states, another common containment will be periodically present this summer--dust from the Sahara Desert.
It may not be until the fires are fully extinguished that widespread, long-lasting stretches of deep blue sky return to the Midwest and the Northeast.
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