Heat wave breaks across Northeast, ushering in cooldown
By
Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jul 1, 2021 9:53 PM EST
|
Updated Jul 3, 2021 3:31 PM EST
Cities across the Pacific Northwest have spent the past week battling some of the highest temperatures they've ever seen. Meanwhile, across the country, cities in the Northeast sizzled as well due to a heat wave that swept through the region, sending temperatures soaring past 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some places.
In order to be officially considered a heat wave, an area must reach 90 degrees or higher for at least three consecutive days, which most major cities in the Northeast were able to achieve thus making this past week's temperatures the second heat wave of the year for the region. Some were even able to keep the heat alive for more than three days.
With AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures factored in, some Northeastern cities felt even hotter than the recorded temperatures. Some places had a AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature of over 105 degrees.
"[The heat] was noticeable, and the humidity was quite high... so from a comfort standpoint, it was a very uncomfortable air mass," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist David Dombek said.
Boston, Massachusetts, broke or tied three records in a row on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, the city reached 100 degrees, breaking the daily record for June 28 and tying the monthly record for June.
Newark, New Jersey, also broke record after record throughout the city's four-day heat wave. Newark either broke or tied three records in a row on June 28 with 98 degrees, June 29 with 102 degrees and June 30 with 103 degrees. The 103-degree day is now the hottest June day on record in the city.
New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore all fell short of breaking any records by a few degrees, with Philadelphia just being shy by a single degree.
While the heat wave across the region broke over most cities on Thursday, the heat wave continued in Washington, D.C., with five consecutive days over 90 degrees, before breaking down on Friday with highs in the lower 80s.
While a handful of records were broken or tied during this heat wave, Dombek said the weather event the Northeast just experienced was not a historic one to be remembered.
"It's not that unusual to get a stretch of hot, humid weather like that," Dombek said. "At the end of June, that's certainly not out of the question."
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Despite the scorching heat in the middle of the week, temperatures in the Northeast have begun to cool down in dramatic fashion for the holiday weekend.
"After several of days of hot weather with records breaking, a cold front will continue to progress slowly southeastward for cooler weather," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Rinde.
Highs on Friday were a stark contrast to what the region endured earlier in the week. In Boston, high temperatures only reached the mid-60's, which was up to 35 degrees cooler than the highs earlier this week. Friday highs would have been considered normal for late April or early May, not the beginning of July.
Saturday will continue the cooling trend and has the lowest temperatures forecast across the region during this cooldown, according to Dombek. New York City will likely not even hit the 70-degree mark Saturday afternoon, as temperatures remain in the 60s.
The region, stretching all the way from New England to the mid-Atlantic, could be at risk of additional showers and thunderstorms over the Fourth of July weekend as the slow-moving area of low pressure swirls along the Atlantic coast.
"This could certainly disrupt some holiday weekend plans with rainfall, but hopefully Sunday will see enough improvement to get through most of the events for the day," Rinde said.
On Sunday, temperatures will likely begin to creep back up but still remain below average on the Fourth of July.
The region is forecast to experience more hot and humid weather next week.
More days with highs in the upper 80s and 90s are predicted as early as Monday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather News
Heat wave breaks across Northeast, ushering in cooldown
By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jul 1, 2021 9:53 PM EST | Updated Jul 3, 2021 3:31 PM EST
Cities across the Pacific Northwest have spent the past week battling some of the highest temperatures they've ever seen. Meanwhile, across the country, cities in the Northeast sizzled as well due to a heat wave that swept through the region, sending temperatures soaring past 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some places.
In order to be officially considered a heat wave, an area must reach 90 degrees or higher for at least three consecutive days, which most major cities in the Northeast were able to achieve thus making this past week's temperatures the second heat wave of the year for the region. Some were even able to keep the heat alive for more than three days.
With AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures factored in, some Northeastern cities felt even hotter than the recorded temperatures. Some places had a AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature of over 105 degrees.
"[The heat] was noticeable, and the humidity was quite high... so from a comfort standpoint, it was a very uncomfortable air mass," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist David Dombek said.
Boston, Massachusetts, broke or tied three records in a row on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, the city reached 100 degrees, breaking the daily record for June 28 and tying the monthly record for June.
Newark, New Jersey, also broke record after record throughout the city's four-day heat wave. Newark either broke or tied three records in a row on June 28 with 98 degrees, June 29 with 102 degrees and June 30 with 103 degrees. The 103-degree day is now the hottest June day on record in the city.
New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore all fell short of breaking any records by a few degrees, with Philadelphia just being shy by a single degree.
While the heat wave across the region broke over most cities on Thursday, the heat wave continued in Washington, D.C., with five consecutive days over 90 degrees, before breaking down on Friday with highs in the lower 80s.
While a handful of records were broken or tied during this heat wave, Dombek said the weather event the Northeast just experienced was not a historic one to be remembered.
"It's not that unusual to get a stretch of hot, humid weather like that," Dombek said. "At the end of June, that's certainly not out of the question."
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Despite the scorching heat in the middle of the week, temperatures in the Northeast have begun to cool down in dramatic fashion for the holiday weekend.
"After several of days of hot weather with records breaking, a cold front will continue to progress slowly southeastward for cooler weather," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Rinde.
Highs on Friday were a stark contrast to what the region endured earlier in the week. In Boston, high temperatures only reached the mid-60's, which was up to 35 degrees cooler than the highs earlier this week. Friday highs would have been considered normal for late April or early May, not the beginning of July.
Saturday will continue the cooling trend and has the lowest temperatures forecast across the region during this cooldown, according to Dombek. New York City will likely not even hit the 70-degree mark Saturday afternoon, as temperatures remain in the 60s.
The region, stretching all the way from New England to the mid-Atlantic, could be at risk of additional showers and thunderstorms over the Fourth of July weekend as the slow-moving area of low pressure swirls along the Atlantic coast.
"This could certainly disrupt some holiday weekend plans with rainfall, but hopefully Sunday will see enough improvement to get through most of the events for the day," Rinde said.
On Sunday, temperatures will likely begin to creep back up but still remain below average on the Fourth of July.
The region is forecast to experience more hot and humid weather next week.
More days with highs in the upper 80s and 90s are predicted as early as Monday.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo