Pittsburgh to Chicago, St. Louis: Glimpse of Summer Heat Returns

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

August 13,2013; 9:08PM,EDT

 

Cooler-than-average temperatures have settled over much of the Midwest and Northeast for part of the summer.
However, a stretch of warmer temperatures will be on the way next week, finally bringing things back up to normal for the latter half of August.
Temperatures will be settling in the mid- to upper 80s from Minnesota to Missouri, then eastward to the mid-Atlantic by the middle of next week. Some afternoon highs could sneak into the 90s for some places, especially towards the center of the country.
The weather pattern looks to change across the Northeast and Midwest, becoming warmer next week.
The high pressure bringing these warmer days will have high temperatures jumping as much as 10 degrees within a week in cities such as Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Along the I-95 corridor, the rise in temperatures will not seem quite as drastic. However, a stream of moisture will move up the coast, allowing higher humidity to add to the warming temperatures.
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This is a warm-up that will follow an extended period of lower temperatures.
A summer-starting heat wave moved across the northern portion of the country through the first part of July. However, once a final cold front pushed through, temperatures dropped below normal, especially from July 24 to the middle of August.
In that time frame, Binghamton, N.Y., has not seen an 80-degree day.

Temperature Departures From Normal Since July 24, 2013

City	Departure From Normal (Degrees F)
Philadelphia	-3.1
Pittsburgh	-3.8
Buffalo, N.Y.	-3.8
Cleveland	-4.2
Cincinnati	-4.3
Detroit	-4.1
Chicago	-4.3
St. Louis	-4.8
Minneapolis	-4.1
Kansas City	-5.1

A few reasons have contributed to the lower temperatures across the area; one of which is excessive rain. Philadelphia has already broken the old summer rainfall record.
Furthermore, since July 24, a total of 10 inches of rain was reported in Philly. This is about 7.5 inches more than the average over this time period.
The other major factor has been the particular weather pattern that has brought rounds of cool, Canadian air for the second half of the summer.
However, when including the heat wave of early July and the rest of early summer, most places average out to near-normal temperatures.
There's hope that the warm-up could bring some help to summertime businesses one last time.
Usually, August is notorious for those last-minute trips to the pool before the start of the school year, but the cooler weather has hindered some of those plans.
However, many water parks and pools have already cut back their summer hours to weekends only, closing during the week despite the continuation of summer.
Benita London, a recreational guide at the Hazelwood Community Center outside of St. Louis, said that many calls will come in asking if the pools will open on the more dreary days.
However, if the temperature doesn't reach 75 degrees by noon, the pools usually remain closed. Because of this, London commented that she noticed less people than normal at the pools this summer.
"We've lost a lot of pool time because of the weather," London said.
Thumbnail photo of heat in Philadelphia earlier this summer. Photo credit to Matt Slocum via AP Images