Philadelphia Region Bracing For 1st Heat Wave Since Last Summer
By Katie Fehlinger, CBS3 Meteorologist
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Make way for an early start to the dog days of summer! The Delaware Valley about to feel the heat with a spike on the thermometer to round out May and usher in the month of June. Some spots will likely flirt with daily records!
Temperatures are expected to soar into the low 90s with hazy sunshine and building humidity Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - officially making it a heat wave by definition (3 or more days at 90 degrees or higher).
The Setup
It all stems from a few atmospheric ingredients, starting with a warm front lifting north Tuesday. That helps turn the wind flow out of the southwest, which in turn provides the moisture needed for a rise in humidity and that sticky discomfort we feel when dew points (which measure moisture content in the atmosphere) are high.
In addition, a strong area of upper level high pressure will set up shop over the mid-Atlantic and gradually strengthen and push north. Underneath that high, heat will continue to build, and so will humidity. Add in the southwesterly, or clockwise flow around the periphery of that high pressure bubble, and we end up with several days of hot, hazy, and humid conditions.
Record Heat?
Right now, the best chance to break any daily records would be away from the coast since the sea breeze would help moderate temperatures. However, Atlantic City is one location that may creep very close - especially Saturday. The record to beat is 89 in AC on June 1st, and the CBS3 Eyewitness Weather Team expects temperatures in the mid-80s at least. Wilmington and Mount Pocono also have decent shot at busting their daily records at least once in the hot stretch ahead.
Philadelphia in the meantime will definitely sizzle! We're forecasting toasty temperatures in the low 90's Thursday right through Saturday. However the city itself probably ends up several degrees shy of the daily record (which stands at 97 degrees for all 3 days).
