Heat Relief Engulfs Midwest, Northeast While the West Bakes

Brian Donegan
Published: July 28,2016
The Northeast will finally enjoy relief from those searing 90s on Friday, but the heat will only continue to build in the West right through the weekend.
Expansive high pressure in the upper atmosphere will strictly focus on parts of the West into the weekend, sending heat indices soaring above 100 degrees.
The National Weather Service has issued various heat alerts for portions of the West.

Heat Alerts

(MORE: Check the Forecast for the Next 10 Days)

Western Heat Continues

West of the Rockies, the scorching temperatures will continue into the weekend as high pressure aloft over the Desert Southwest bulges northward into the northern Great Basin and Northwest.
Triple-digit heat is expected as far north as interior parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho through Saturday, including Boise and Salt Lake City, among other locations.
Parts of California's Central Valley, as well as southern Nevada and the low deserts of southern Arizona, will likely top 110 degrees.
Some daily record highs may be threatened in locations such as Reno, Nevada, and Grand Junction, Colorado, each nearing or topping the century mark for multiple days.
(MORE: What is the Heat Index?)

Southwest Forecast Highs

Northeast Relief Begins

Washington D.C. and Baltimore both hit 100 degrees Monday afternoon, tying or setting new daily record highs. This was the hottest weather they have seen since July 2012. A break finally arrives on Friday with lower humidity and high temperatures holding in the upper 80s – near seasonal averages.
Relief is also in store for Philadelphia and New York City Friday, with highs actually ending up below average, in the low to mid 80s.
(MORE: Heat is the Deadliest Kind of Weather)
Through Tuesday, Boston had recorded six consecutive 90-degree days. The streak ended Wednesday when they got stuck at 87 degrees, due to east to southeast winds off the Atlantic Ocean. The longest heat wave on record in Boston is nine days, back in July 1912.
On Friday, clouds and rain will hold Boston's temperatures in the upper 70s.
A subtle, southward dip in the jet stream (trough of low pressure) will allow these near- or below-average temperatures to continue into the weekend across the Northeast.
(MORE: Flash Flood Threat in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast)

Forecast Highs

Central States Below Average

A cold front delivered another shot of cooler, less humid air to much of the nation's Midwest late this week.
Much of the nation's heartland will have high temperatures below late July averages, including 80s for many, and some 70s in the northern Plains, Upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes.
This comes after much of the central U.S. dealt with dangerous conditions last week, with heat indices around 115 degrees in some spots.
(MORE: Forecast Temperature Maps)

Forecast Highs

Heat Recap

Reno, Nevada, tied a daily record high on July 28 by reaching 102 degrees. Las Vegas broke their record high of 114 degrees on July 28 by topping out at 115 degrees. Pueblo, Colorado, tied a record high on July 28 at 103 degrees.
Reno, Nevada, tied a daily record high of 103 degrees July 27. Las Vegas also tied a daily record high on July 27 by reaching 115 degrees.
Washington D.C. and Baltimore both reached 100 degrees on July 25, which tied record highs in both cities. Philadelphia got to 97 degrees, breaking the old record high of 96 degrees. Newark, New Jersey, came up just shy of the century mark, topping out at a record-breaking 99 degrees (old record 98 degrees).
Midland, Texas, set a July record for 100-degree-plus days on July 25, and had long eclipsed the previous July record of six days with highs of 105 degrees set in 1995.
July 24's daily record highs included El Paso, Texas (106 degrees; tied), Zanesville, Ohio (97 degrees), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (95 degrees, tied), and Binghamton, New York (90 degrees).
Except for the Pacific Northwest, all other states in the Lower 48 had at least one location reporting a temperature of 90 degrees or above on July 22.
The heat index at Memphis, Tennessee, reached 114 degrees on July 22, while up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it felt like 110 degrees.
Dallas reached 100 degrees on July 22 for the first time this year, and then reached 100 degrees again on July 23.
On July 21 the heat index at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, topped out at an extremely dangerous 116 degrees.
Waco, Texas, recorded its first 100-degree day of the year on July 20. The average date for Waco's first 100-degree day is July 4, so this came over two weeks later than average. Dallas reached 100 degrees on July 22 for the first time this year.
Incidentally, Salt Lake City's daily low temperature of 81 degrees on July 18 was the city's all-time hottest record low in records dating to 1874. It was also the hottest string of nights on record in the Utah capital city.

Heat Safety Tips

The hot conditions this week will be particularly dangerous for vulnerable groups such as the sick and the elderly. The National Weather Service offered useful heat safety tips that can be incorporated into a daily routine when extreme heat sets in.

• Job sites: Stay hydrated and take breaks in the shade as often as possible.
• Indoors: Check up on the elderly, sick and those without air conditioning.
• In vehicles: Never leave children or pets unattended – look before you lock.
• Outdoors: Limit strenuous activities and find shade. Drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol.

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