Fall Temperature Reality Check Will Bring End to Widespread Warmth

Chris Dolce
Published: November 6,2015
Fall's reputation for big temperature swings is on full display the next couple of days with many cities across the Midwest and East seeing a reality check after enjoying widespread warmth. The cold front responsible for the cooldown will drop high temperatures 20 degrees in a span of a few days in some locations.
(MORE: Who Will See the Most Snow This Winter?)
The warmth preceding the cooldown has already broken records in recent days, with the warmth lasting into some areas on Saturday before the cold front largely pushes offshore.
Cooling Down: The cooler air has engulfed the majority of the Midwest and Great Lakes, dropping temperatures to within a few degrees of average throughout the region. Chicago and Omaha, Nebraska, will see highs in the 50s this weekend after starting the week in the 70s. Minneapolis will drop from the 60s and low 70s it's enjoyed the last several days to the 40s.
Below is the forecast showing what areas are remaining warm or cooling down through the weekend.

This Weekend

Saturday's Forecast

Saturday into Sunday, the entire Northeast and Southeast regions will see temperatures drop back to near or even slightly below average. Here is what we expect for several East Coast cities:

Sunday's Forecast

New York City: Following a stretch of 70s Tuesday-Friday, highs will be in the low 60s Saturday and middle 50s Sunday.
Washington, D.C.: 80-degree temperatures on Friday will give way to low 60s Saturday and upper 50s Sunday.
Buffalo, New York: Highs in the 60s the past few days will be replaced with low 50s and upper 40s this weekend.
Raleigh, North Carolina: Following highs in the mid-70s on Friday, temperatures may struggle to top 60 by Sunday.
Charleston, South Carolina: Highs in the 80s Friday and Saturday will give way to low 60s Sunday.

November Heat Records Broken

Besides the numerous all-time November record highs broken this week in Florida, other noteworthy records have been set from the Rockies to the Midwest to the Northeast.
Tuesday Records:
Among the daily record highs for Nov. 3 tied or broken Tuesday were Flint, Michigan (79 degrees); Poughkeepsie, New York (78 degrees); Rhinelander, Wisconsin (70 degrees); and Pueblo, Colorado (80 degrees).
Wednesday Records:
On Nov. 4, highs ranged from 10 to 20 degrees above average across a large swath of the Midwest eastward into parts of New York and the Mid-Atlantic. Most of the South also experienced above average warmth.
Tampa, Florida set an all-time record high for the month of November after reaching 92 degrees Wednesday afternoon. This outpaced the previous record of 90 degrees on Nov. 4, 1961 and Nov. 1, 2006.
(MORE: Unprecedented November Heat in Florida)
While not quite an all-time monthly high, Rochester, New York's high of 78 degrees on Wednesday smashed the daily record by 4 degrees. This was the fourth warmest November day on record for Rochester.
In Michigan, seven of the state's nine official first-order observation sites broke their daily record highs on Nov. 4. Flint hit 80 degrees to also set a record high for the entire month of November. Meanwhile, Detroit hit 77; Alpena and Lansing hit 76; Grand Rapids hit 75; Houghton Lake hit 72; and Sault Ste. Marie hit 67. Only Muskegon and Marquette missed the mark Wednesday.
Erie, Pennsylvania also got in on the heat, setting a new daily record high of 78 degrees Wednesday, toppling the previous record from 1935.
Low temperatures have also been very warm. Nov. 4 was the fifth consecutive day with record warm low temperature set in Key West with a low temperature of 80 or 81 degrees every day since Oct. 31.
Thursday Records:
Some of the daily record highs for Nov. 5 include Akron, Ohio (77 degrees), Cleveland (76 degrees), Elkins, West Virginia (78 degrees) and Rochester, New York (75 degrees).
Binghamton, New York toppled their daily record high by 4 degrees when they reached 71 degrees on Nov. 5. Temperature records for the site go back to 1951.
While Detriot just tied their daily record high of 74 degrees on Thursday, it marked the third day in a row with record-tying or record-breaking heat.
Warm low temperature records were also set on Nov. 5 including Chicago (59 degrees), Bowling Green, Kentucky (64 degrees) and Madison, Wisconsin (57 degrees).
Friday Records:
Temperatures to start Friday morning were in the 60s as far north as Detroit, Buffalo and Burlington, Vermont. Buffalo has only seen a low in the 60s during November five other times dating to 1873. For Detroit, this is only the fourth November morning with a 60-degree low since 1874.
The following daily record highs have been set on Friday: Baltimore, (80 degrees), New York City (74 degrees), Tampa, Florida (90 degrees) and Washington, D.C. (80 degrees).
All three major reporting sites in New York City broke daily records highs for the date, including JFK Airport, where the high temperature of 75 degrees smashed the previous record of 70 degrees in 1961.

MORE: America's Most Extreme Temperature Ranges