Midwest, Northeast Heat Wave To Smash Early June Records Through Tuesday

 weather.com meteorologists

Published: June 8, 2021

A heat wave has already smashed early-June record highs and will continue to do so through Tuesday in parts of the Northeast, upper Midwest and Northern Plains.

This heat wave has not only smashed record highs for a particular calendar day, it's also reached levels not seen in a few years in parts of the Northern Plains, fueled by parched ground from a long-term drought.

Bismarck, North Dakota, soared to 106 degrees Friday, their hottest day in almost 14 years. North Dakota's capital city also reached 106 two weeks earlier in the calendar than they had previously done in records dating to 1874.

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Sioux Falls, South Dakota, had their hottest day in almost nine years Saturday, topping out at 101 degrees.

Milwaukee tied or set daily record highs three days in a row just one week after shivering through a day stuck in the 40s with rain on May 28.

In the Northeast, Caribou, Maine, just 10 miles from the Canadian border, soared to 92 degrees Monday, crushing their daily record by 8 degrees.

Burlington, Vermont soared to 95 degrees Sunday, then 96 degrees on Monday, both daily records. Newark and New York's LaGuardia Airport each also set daily record highs two days in a row Saturday and Sunday.

Last week, a number of record highs were smashed in the West, from California to Montana. Scroll to the bottom of the article for a brief recap of some of those records.

The culprit to this heat wave is an expansive ridge of high pressure stretching from the Northern Plains across the Great Lakes and Northeast.

This pattern looks to hold in place the next couple of days, though there will be one important change that will bring some relief to the Northeast later in the week.

Below, we take a closer look at what to expect.

Midwest, Northeast Records Ahead

Highs will continue to be 10 to 25 degrees above average through Thursday from the Northern Plains into the upper Midwest. Temperatures will soar into the 80s and 90s, which will be a few degrees lower than what was experienced on Friday and Saturday, but still quite hot.

Fewer daily record highs are possible compared to the last few days, but at least some are possible through Wednesday in parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota. This could end up becoming the earliest one-week stretch of 90-degree-plus heat on record in Minneapolis-St. Paul, according to the National Weather Service.

Lake breezes and a chance for a few thunderstorms may cool off areas near the lakeshore in Chicago and Milwaukee and parts of Lower Michigan.

(MORE: America's Number One Weather Killer is Heat)

Lows will remain warmer, with temperatures dipping only into the 60s and 70s. That's warm enough to set additional daily record warm lows through much of the rest of this week.

Forecast Highs

In the Northeast, highs 10 to 25 degrees above average are expected through Tuesday. This translates to highs into the 90s, in some spots.

Daily record high temperatures are possible in parts of Maine again on Tuesday.

Temperatures will only drop into the 60s and 70s for morning lows.

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Low temperatures will be warmer than the highs observed in most areas of the Northeast over the rainy, chilly Memorial Day weekend. Numerous record cold high temperatures were set Sunday, May 30, including Worcester (47 degrees), Albany (48), Boston (51 - tied), New York City (51) and Philadelphia (53).

Forecast Highs

How Long Will This Heat Last?

Some areas will see heat relief later this week.

A cold front is expected to sag out of eastern Canada into the Northeast by Thursday. This, plus an increased chance of rain and thunderstorms, will end the heat wave, there.

(FORECAST MAPS: Highs/Lows | Rain)

There will be a little bit of brief relief in the Northern Plains by Friday as a frontal system and possibly strong thunderstorms push through.

After that, however, the heat will build back into the northern Plains and northern Rockies beginning next weekend.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has highlighted this area as having the greatest chance of above-average temperatures next week. It may not set daily records, but the central U.S. heat looks to linger into next week.

Meanwhile, much of the East and Southeast - except for the Florida Peninsula - has a better chance of cooler-than-average temperatures next week.

Temperature Outlook

Record Heat Recap

This heat wave started earlier last week in the West as temperatures rose up to 20 degrees above average from the Southwest to the Northwest as a ridge in the jet stream stagnated over those regions.

Redding, California, set its hottest May temperature on record when the city soared to 109 degrees Monday. Among daily records set Tuesday included Portland, Oregon (95 degrees) and 103 degrees in Merced, California.

On Wednesday, numerous daily record highs were set including in Las Vegas (107 degrees - tied), Pendleton, Oregon (100 degrees), Reno, Nevada (98 degrees), Spokane, Washington (94 degrees) and Helena, Montana (92 degrees). Daily record highs set on Thursday include Death Valley, California (120 degrees - tied), Las Vegas (108 degrees), Boise, Idaho (103 degrees), Salt Lake City (97 degrees) and Billings, Montana (96 degrees).

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.