By Maria Ortiz
05 Oct 2023, 01:35 AM EDT
The week began with record-breaking heat across the Northern Plains, the Upper Midwest and much of the Great Lakes, but A strong autumn cold front will be causing a major change.
The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast temperatures will drop as a powerful fall cold front hits the central and eastern United States by the weekend, causing temperatures to drop as much as 35 degrees F.
The clash between cold autumn air and humid, summer air It will facilitate heavy rains and storms in its path.
The blast of fresh air from Canada will be descending on the lower 48 states through the weekend, bringing severe storms and heavy rain to the southern United States but it is good news for millions of people in the southern United States. have endured a brutally hot summer and a scorching early fall.
Relief from the heat will come as far south as the Gulf Coast. States like Louisiana, which suffered the hottest summer on record this year, will have below-normal afternoon temperatures for the first time since spring, according to CNN.
Where temperatures will drop dramatically
A double influx of cold air from two separate cold fronts will spread across the central US starting Wednesday and spread eastward on Friday and into the weekend.
Temperatures from the Great Lakes to New York could drop as low as 35 degrees F over the weekend. Temperature drops of 20 degrees will be more widespread.
The first cold front will bring relief to the north-central United States on Wednesday into Thursday. Places like Minneapolis, where record temperatures reached 90 degrees on Sunday, may not get above 60 degrees on Wednesday.
The second cold front will be much more powerful and will mark the beginning of the first truly fall blast of the season in the central and eastern United States. Cold Canadian air will move south as the cold front moves across the eastern two-thirds of the continental US Thursday through Sunday.
Places like Detroit and Cleveland, which soared into the 80s on Wednesday, may not get out of 50 degrees on Sunday.
Philadelphia and New York City by Sunday will struggle to reach 60 degrees.
Low temperatures in the 30s and 50s are likely across the North Central U.S. and Midwest on Saturday morningand in the northeast on Sunday morning, which will cause the first frost of the season.
Below-average temperatures are likely from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast until at least the middle of next week, according to the Climate Prediction Center.
Keep reading:
– This year was the hottest summer in history, according to NASA
– ‘We need to educate ourselves about the risks posed by extreme heat,’ recommend experts
– Videos show the strength of Hurricane Idalia that made landfall in Florida