13 hours ago
Extreme heat expected to continue during the week, weather experts warn
As millions of Americans return to work June 23 for the first full week of summer, they will face scorching temperatures that could reach as high as 100 degrees, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic region, weather experts said.
'The toughest days are going to be Monday through Wednesday to get through,'' said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service.
A heat wave is expected to continue across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast putting more than 150 million Americans under heat advisories, heat warnings or extreme heat watches, according to the National Weather Service. A heat warning is more extreme with temperature possibly reaching as high as 110 degrees, but all the conditions can be dangerous, said Hurley.
'It's a concerning issue just because of the fact that we're not really getting much relief, if any, at night," he said. 'We're not cooling off so it's going to feel pretty extreme.''
Some temperatures could reach 15 degrees above normal for June. It's early to see triple-digit temperatures, which usually happen in July, Hurley said.
'It's going to feel miserable'
The Mid-Atlantic corridor, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York, is likely to be hardest hit. In the Washington, D.C., metro area temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees early in the week with night-time temperatures in the 80s.
"Those overnight temperatures are going to struggle to get below 80 degrees,'' he said.
Hurley noted that D.C. just recently hit it's first 90-degree day.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a heat alert for Sunday, June 22, and extreme heat alerts for Monday through Wednesday, June 23-25. Officials urged residents to check on seniors and access cooling centers across the city. Cooling buses were also deployed for people without shelter.
Other areas also expected to be impacted by the extreme heat include Raleigh, North Carolina and Richmond, Virginia. Both are predicted to experience near-record or record daily temperatures of more than 100 degrees early in the week.
'It's really the brute force of it all,'' he said noting the temperature shift. 'That's why it's going to feel a bit stifling.''Either way it's going to feel miserable,' he said.
The extreme conditions could be dangerous. Experts recommend people limit outdoor activities, stay hydrated, put on air conditioning early in your car, bring water bottles and find access to cooling centers.
The first day of summer, June 20, kicked off with a heat wave blanketing some parts of the country and continued into the weekend.
Much of the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast was under heat advisory warnings, according to the National Weather expected to cool off – a little – by the end of next week with temperatures in the lower 90s. 'That will feel a lot nicer,'' Hurley said.
