Steamy 90s Return to the Great Lakes, Northeast This Weekend

Brian Donegan
Published: June 24,2016

The searing 90-degree heat shifts east this weekend, bringing a potential heat wave to many Great Lakes and Northeast cities. These regions experienced hot temperatures last weekend for Father's Day, and this weekend will be no different.
A large ridge of high pressure aloft, or a bulge in the jet stream, will set up over the Great Lakes on Saturday and the Northeast by Sunday. Underneath a ridge, the air sinks and warms by compression, leading to very warm temperatures at the surface.
(MORE: Severe Storms Expected in Midwest This Weekend)

Forecast Jet Stream on Sunday

Highs around 90 are expected over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Saturday, in places such as Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati.
The 90-degree temperatures will spread into the Northeast by Sunday, so residents of Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Burlington, Vermont, will likely be turning on their air conditioners for, at least, the second half of the weekend.
A heat wave, typically defined as three or more days of 90+ degree temperatures (in the northern tier of states), is possible in these regions Saturday-Monday, with the hottest two days expected to be Sunday and Monday, out ahead of the next cold front.

Northeast Cities Forecast

Dew points, or the measure of the amount of water vapor in the air, will also rise into the uncomfortable 60s for many locations, perhaps even to 70 degrees in spots. This will make the heat index, or "feels like" temperature, even hotter than the actual air temperature.
After a few days of hot, humid conditions, a cold front will swing through early next week, bringing scattered showers and thunderstorms and a return to more seasonable, less humid weather by the middle of next week.
(MAPS: 10-day Forecast National Highs/Lows)

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