April 26 (UPI) — As the calendar marches on toward summer, residents across a large portion of the Midwest and Northeast will get an early taste of some summerlike warmth this week, starting in the Midwest, before spilling all the way to the East Coast.
The burgeoning warmth will start in the Midwest on Monday. While most in the Northeast wait patiently, with temperatures holding a few degrees below normal for late April, high temperatures will soar farther west.
“A warm front will begin moving north through the Midwest on Monday. Behind this warm front, temperatures will soar to summerlike levels,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo.
Omaha, Neb., could top 90 degrees Monday. Des Moines, Iowa, will climb into the mid-80s. After a chilly start to the day in the low 40s, Chicago will quickly jump well into the 70s as the warm front moves through in the afternoon.
By Tuesday, the warmth will continue its expansion eastward, with heat peaking at record-challenging levels in some parts of the Midwest and Ohio Valley. Chicago and Toledo, Ohio, will both flirt with record highs on Tuesday. The temperature to beat in Chicago is 87 from 1986, while in Toledo the old record is 88 from 1990.
While the peak of the warmth won’t arrive in much of the Northeast until Wednesday, Tuesday will still start to feel significantly warmer. High temperatures in New England away from the immediate coast will climb well into the 60s, with a few spots surpassing 70. To the south in the mid-Atlantic, widespread 70s and even some highs in the lower 80s are anticipated. For both regions these temperatures are around 6-12 degrees above normal for the end of April.
However the pinnacle of the warmth will reach the East on Wednesday. Temperatures will rise into the 80s all the way into parts of southern New York and southern New England. Daytime highs in most of the Northeast, from southern New England through the mid-Atlantic will be 15-20 degrees above normal for late April, and closer to what is normal for later June.
Washington, D.C., will approach the 90-degree mark and challenge the old record for the day of 92 set back in 1957. Places as far north as Harrisburg, Pa., to portions of central New Jersey could challenge the 90-degree mark. Even right at the Jersey Shore, in places like Atlantic City that are usually tempered by the still cold ocean waters this time of year, temperatures could rise into the 80s.
“There will be a consistent west wind blowing off of the coast. This will help to keep the sea breeze at bay for coastal areas of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland and could bring summerlike warmth right to some of the beaches,” explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson.
While it will feel summerlike, and it may tempt residents all through the Great Lakes and Northeast to perhaps try and take a beach day, heading out to the pond, lake, ocean or other, AccuWeather Meteorologists give a warning to keep in mind.
“Much of the water in the region, whether it’s the ocean, one of the Great Lakes, the local reservoir, or even a backyard pond, is still very cold from the winter months,” Adamson explained.
Entering the still very cold water this time of the year can lead to cold water shock.
“Typically, in the spring and early summer is when people start venturing out onto the water and [they] don’t quite realize what they’re getting into with how dangerous the cold water is,” said Keith Bills, course manager at the National Ice Rescue School for the Coast Guard.
Any water at or below 77 is considered to be cold water, and the lower the temperature, the quicker it will begin to affect the body.
Most locales are likely to fall just short of 90 with this brief burst of heat. On average, many cities in these regions don’t hit 90-degree mark for the first time until early June. For Chicago, the average date of the first 90-degree reading is June 10. In Toledo, Ohio, the average first 90-degree day isn’t until June 13. In fact, the earliest 90-degree day on record in Toledo is May 5, 1949.
Farther east, the average first 90-degree day in Washington, D.C., is May 18, and in Harrisburg, Pa., it is June 1.
The taste of summer will be brief though, as cold front comes to cool the region off. Temperatures will tumble back into the upper 50s and 60s from the Great Lakes into New England by Thursday, with 60s and the lower 70s farther south from the Ohio Valley into the mid-Atlantic.
“It’s not going to be a big plunge into cold though,” Adamson clarified. “Just a return back to around the normal high temperatures for this time of the year.”
