'Virtually no relief' from heat in store for eastern US into end of July

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

July 23,2016; 8:05PM,EDT

 

 

Much of the eastern United States will continue to swelter with above-average temperatures into the end of the month.
Highs during the last part of July typically range from the middle 80s to near 90 F across much of the region. High temperatures in many areas will average 5-10 degrees above normal and will be close to 15 degrees above normal in some locations.
"With no strong pushes of cool air from Canada on the horizon, people from the mid-Atlantic to the Deep South can expect virtually no relief from the high heat and humidity," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Kyle Elliott.

Most of the cool air will get bottled up over the northern Plains.
Highs most days will be in the 90s in New York City; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Richmond, Virginia; Atlanta; and Charlotte, North Carolina; right through the end of July. It is possible temperatures approach 100 for a day or two with some record highs being challenged.
Temperatures at New York City's Central Park soared past the 90-degree mark, marking the city's first official heat wave of the year.
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"Temperatures are expected to reach 90 F in New York City through at least Wednesday, making this the longest heat wave for the city since mid-July 2013," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
Most nights in the large cities will be quite warm. Temperatures in the urban areas will only dip into the 70s for a few hours and will offer only brief relief from the heat.
"Farther north, from the Great Lakes to New England, there will be a day or two where temperatures dip to near seasonal norms, compliments of rounds of thunderstorms," Elliott said.

However, spotty thunderstorms may also raise humidity levels a few more notches in some locations.
High temperatures will fluctuate from the middle 80s to the lower to middle 90s in Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Boston and Albany, New York.
The heat baking New England will help fuel locally severe thunderstorms with damaging winds on Saturday afternoon.

The hot pattern will offer opportunities to head to the beach or hang out at the pool.
While there are signs that cooler air will attempt to build over the Upper Midwest toward the end of July and during the first part of August, how much cool air, if any, gets to the Atlantic Seaboard during that time is questionable at this point, AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Edward Vallee stated.
"The cooler air versus ongoing heat will be contingent upon whether or not an area of high pressure builds along the Atlantic Seaboard by early August," Vallee said.
The clockwise flow around high pressure along the Atlantic coast would tend to keep heat and high humidity locked in place.