Residents across the Northeast will get a quick breather from the recent heat and humidity late this weekend, but weather forecasters say it will not last long. A brief push of cooler air is expected to drop temperatures by 10 to 20 degrees across the region from Saturday into Monday, though midsummer heat and tropical moisture are already lined up to return by the middle of next week.
Before the cooler air arrives, afternoon temperatures will peak in the mid-90s through Saturday across the interior mid-Atlantic, while the Midwest and interior Northeast will see widespread highs in the 80s. A cold front moving through the area between Saturday and Monday will trigger the temperature drop, bringing along showers and thunderstorms.
Some of these late-afternoon and evening storms on Saturday and Sunday could become severe, posing risks of damaging wind gusts, hail, and torrential downpours.
This relief will be over almost as soon as it starts because of a fast-moving weather pattern. According to AccuWeather Senior Long-Range Meteorologist Joe Lundberg, “The jet stream pattern will shift quickly next week. Unlike previous episodes that sustained cooler weather for several days, this dip in the jet stream will move through in only 24-36 hours. It will be followed by a pronounced northward bulge, allowing much warmer air to return.”
Monday is expected to be the coolest day of the week for most cities. By Tuesday and Wednesday, high temperatures will bounce back into the 80s across the Northeast, and humidity levels will climb higher than they were this past week. From Thursday into next Saturday, thermometer readings will range from the 80s to the mid-90s depending on local cloud cover.
The heat will build even faster in parts of the Midwest where rain remains scarce, pushing highs into the mid-80s to upper 90s by midweek. In contrast, the Mississippi and Ohio valleys are facing repeated rounds of storms that bring a high risk of flash flooding.
Because dry days will outnumber wet ones across most of the Northeast next week, current drought conditions may worsen and expand. Any significant, widespread relief from the dry spell will depend on moisture moving up from the Gulf region.
Meteorologists are currently watching the Gulf of Mexico, western Caribbean, and southwestern Atlantic for potential tropical activity through the middle of June. This tropical moisture could spread into the eastern United States late next week or into the following week, threatening heavy downpours while offering a chance for much-needed rain in drought-stricken areas.
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