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This week, it will be the Midwest and Northeast’s turn to swelter.
After punishing the western and southern U.S. with record-smashing temperatures over the past month or so, the intense summer heat will finally make an appearance across much of the Midwest and Northeast over the next few days.
“This week, the extent of the heat across the United States will be the most widespread of the summer yet,” AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
Highs will surge toward 100 degrees in some Midwest cities and well into the 90s in the Northeast, according to Weather.com.
Overall, at least 45 states and more than 100 million Americans will endure temperatures of 90 degrees or higher at some point this week, AccuWeather reported.
Record-breaking heat brings more triple-digit days
Late July is expected to be the hottest period of the summer for much of the country based on historical averages, according to AccuWeather. Temperatures are forecast to exceed average levels by six to 12 degrees, challenging some daily record highs in the Midwest and Northeast.
As the heat dome expands eastward, millions of people in the mid-Atlantic may experience triple-digit temperatures that haven’t been reached in years, AccuWeather said. Temperatures in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore are predicted to reach around 100 degrees at the end of the week.
“It has not yet reached 100 in either city this year,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger. “In fact, it has not even gotten into the upper 90s yet in Washington.”
Meanwhile, the Southwest has entered its third week of record-breaking heat. In Arizona, the Phoenix Metropolitan Area has seen temperatures topping 110 degrees daily with Tuesday hitting 118 degrees.
The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings for weeks in the area, but excessive highs aren’t the only problem. Record-high lows are also a challenge, meaning low temperatures are higher than usual.
In El Paso, Texas, the city endured scorching heat for its 40th consecutive day. High temperatures reached 102 degrees Tuesday afternoon in the city.
‘Heat is a real force multiplier’
With no end in sight, the heat has been exacerbating medical emergencies and the length of the heat wave matters more than how hot temperatures get, according to Arizona State University researcher Pope Moseley.
“Data from population studies in Sweden have shown that for every heat wave day, you have an 8-12% increase in overall mortality,” Moseley said in an ASU publication. “Heat is a real force multiplier of the illnesses and chronic conditions that we have.”
So far in 2023, there have been 18 heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. But 69 other deaths are also under investigation by officials that could potentially increase the number of heat-related deaths.
Arizona officials and advocates have also decried conditions for farmworkers and migrants amid the heat. The death of a Yuma farmworker on July 20 has renewed calls for regulations to protect workers from the heat.
Dario Mendoza, 26, the father of two young children died after collapsing on the job from an apparent heat stroke as temperatures reached a high of 116 degrees in Yuma.
Migrants detained over the weekend at the Ajo Border Patrol Station caused officials and advocates to raise concerns over the conditions as temperatures remained in the triple digits. A few dozen migrants were seen under the sun in an outdoor cage on Saturday.
‘Hottest weather of the summer’
“For people in much of the Northeast, later this week will bring the hottest weather of the summer so far,” Rayno said.
Highs will jump into the middle to upper 90s from New York City to Washington, D.C., as the week comes to a close, Weather.com meteorologists Chris Dolce and Jonathan Erdman said. Hartford, Connecticut, and Washington will come within a few degrees of their daily record highs on Friday.
New York City should reach or exceed 93 degrees Thursday or Friday – the city’s highest temperature of the year – and may hit 90 degrees on Saturday, which would make it the first “official” heat wave of the year, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Scorching hot in the Midwest
The Midwest will also see extreme heat this week. “A massive dome of high pressure has been the driving force of the heat in the Southwest this summer and that system will expand eastward this week,” Sosnowski said.
St. Louis should see highs of at least 100 Thursday and Friday. And Chicago will see its first heat wave of the summer with four days of 90 degrees or greater from Tuesday to Friday.
Good news and bad news
There is some good news on the horizon for the Midwest, Northeast and mid-Atlantic by Sunday and into next week as a push of cool, less humid Canadian air is forecast to spread across the regions. However, along with the cooler air will come smoke from wildfires in western Canada, AccuWeather said. That could cause more bouts of poor air quality in several cities.
Southwest continues to bake
The heat is also forecast to continue this week in the Southwest. Phoenix’s record-breaking summer of heat continued Monday as the city recorded its 25th straight day of temperatures of 110 degrees or higher, extending a national record among large U.S. cities.
The city also had 15 straight days (through Monday) in which its lows have not dipped below 90 degrees, including an all-time record-warmest low temperature of 97 degrees last Wednesday, Weather.com reported.
Phoenix is forecast to see highs of 110 degrees or above for the rest of the week, the National Weather Service said.
Excessive heat warnings will remain in effect across the Desert Southwest through Thursday, and heat advisories are in place over portions of the Great Plains and southern Florida, the weather service said.
Contributing: Kate Perez, Eli Wizevich, Daniel Gonzalez, José Ignacio Castañeda Perez and Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY Network
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