Unusually high temperatures in the Southern and Northeast US on Saturday broke records marked on the same day in previous years.
National Weather Service
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National Weather Service
Unusually high temperatures in the Southern and Northeast US on Saturday broke records marked on the same day in previous years.
National Weather Service
Much of the country, which stretches from Texas to the Northeast, set new daily temperature records over the weekend.
Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said above-normal temperatures continued Sunday, largely in the Northeast in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Chenard said that a record-breaking early-season heatwave “isn’t common, but it’s not unprecedented”.
Nearly 20 million people have under heat advice by Sunday afternoon, a number had dropped to about 15.8 million by evening.
Scientists have discovered that Climate change is both intensifying and increasing its likelihood of heat waves. While Chenard said he was unable to determine if any of the events were caused by climate change, the meteorologist attributed the unusual temperatures to fluctuations in weather patterns.
“If you think of this pattern as ocean waves, when the waves are flatter, temperatures tend to be more normal across the country,” he said. “However, as the wave becomes more amplified, you have larger peaks and larger drop-off. Where you have peaks, you tend to have warm air moving northward resulting in temperatures. higher than normal… and where you have depth you’ll have colder air pushing south leading to lower-than-normal temperatures.”
That’s why, Chenard said, we’re also seeing unusually cold temperatures over parts of the Rockies and Plains this weekend.
Below is a summary of new temperature records for each calendar day set this weekend in the Northeast and Southern regions, according to data provided by the NWS on Sunday afternoon. While these numbers are preliminary, the meteorologist added, they are unlikely to change much in the record books, if at all.
May 21
Richmond, Va., hit 95 degrees, breaking its 1962 record by 2 degrees.
Austin, Texas, has marked a new high of 100 degrees, up from 99 degrees in 1939.
San Antonio, Texas, hit 101 degrees, jumping from 98 degrees in 1939.
Victoria, Texas, reached a peak of 97 degrees, compared with a daily high of 96 degrees in 1939.
Vicksburg, Miss., hit 98 degrees to break its 1962 record of 4 degrees.
Georgetown, Del., hit 95 degrees, surpassing 94 degrees in 1996.
Hagerstown, Md., recorded a 91-degree day, exceeding the 90-degree day in 1941.
Islip, NY, hit a 90-degree record in 1996.
Atlantic City, NJ, hit 93 degrees for the first time that day since 1996.
Baton Rouge, La., set a record in 1922 at 95 degrees.
Philadelphia hit a 95-degree record in 1934.
Worcester, Mass., tied its 1975 record of 88 degrees.
Jackson, Ky., reaches 86 degrees to set a 2018 record.
The airport in Dulles, Va., hit 92 degrees, marking its 1996 mark.
May 22
Dulles International Airport in Virginia hits 91 degrees, 2 degrees higher than the record set on the same day last year.
Westfield, Mass., hit 93 degrees, breaking the record set last year of 90 degrees.
Worcester, Mass., set a 90-degree record, a landmark set in 1992.
Tampa, Fla., hit 96 degrees, one degree higher its 1975 record.
Sarasota, Fla., matches its 96-degree day record from 1974.
