Halloween is just around the corner, but parts of the eastern U.S. are being transported back to late summer this week as temperatures challenge records in many areas.
Published Oct. 12, 2021 10:42 AM EDT | Updated Oct. 14, 2021 8:52 PM EDT
Residents across the East are about to experience a burst of out-of-season warmth that will make it feel more like late August or early September.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that high pressure building across Eastern states will allow temperatures to reach summerlike levels. Add plenty of sunshine to the mix and the weather will have a rather toasty feel to it by late in the week.
"As a high-pressure system begins to shift into a position just off the Eastern Seaboard on Friday, it will usher in some unusually warm air for mid-October," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Carl Babinski.
Cities such as Pittsburgh typically record high temperatures around 64-65 degrees Fahrenheit during this time in October. However, on Thursday temperatures in the Steel city surged into the high 70s and are forecast to remain warm into Friday.
Temperatures will generally average 10-20 degrees above normal, with some larger cities, including Philadelphia, striking over 80 degrees Friday, Oct. 15, according to Babinski.
Some parts of the eastern United States are forecast to reach even higher temperatures by late in the week. In Washington, D.C., the forecast high is set to approach the daily record temperature of 87, previously set in 1975. The AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the nation's capital Friday will hover in the upper 80s F.
Slightly farther north, Baltimore is forecast to reach 84 degrees Friday, which is just shy of the previous daily record of 86 that was most recently reached in 1989. Hagerstown, Maryland, could come close to breaking the daily record of 82 set in 1975.
Locations farther south will still record above-average temperatures; however, not quite to the degree that the Northeast is forecast to experience. Southern cities are likely to average 5-10 degrees above normal by Friday, and some may come a few degrees away from challenging their record high temperature. Places such as Charlotte, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, and Atlanta, will be within a few degrees of their daily record temperatures later this week.
Charlotte is forecast to challenge record highs through Friday with a high of 86 predicted each day. The record for Thursday of 87 was set back in 1940. Friday’s record of 88 dates back to 1985. Elsewhere in the state, Raleigh could come close to topping the record 88 F from 1985 on Friday.
Temperatures throughout most of the interior Northeast will shift closer to seasonable levels during the weekend before the chances for wet weather increase.
"This warm air is expected to linger into Saturday when most of the major East Coast cities will reach the 70s, Babinski said. "However, clouds, showers and thunderstorms associated with a cold front are expected to bring cooler air on Sunday when most temperatures will be no higher than the 60s," he said. The much cooler air will spread into the Appalachians on Saturday.
The downpours and storms that push eastward across the region can bring localized flooding and strong wind gusts for a time this weekend.
Fall foliage is still expected to be vibrant across much of the Northeast despite the upcoming shift in temperatures and October precipitation totals ranging under 20% of their normal amounts.
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The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that only about 11% of the Northeast is experiencing abnormally dry conditions and only 3% of the region is considered to be experiencing moderate drought. A few rounds of rainfall in September provided ample moisture to the mid-Atlantic states. With showers and possibly a thunderstorm anticipated across mid-Atlantic states and New England by the weekend, October rainfall totals will have a chance to improve.
With Halloween a little over two weeks away, pumpkin carving enthusiasts may want to wait a week or so to set their jack-o-lantern outside, as unseasonable warmth may hasten pumpkin deterioration.
Next week is expected to start out drier and cooler in comparison to this weekend as a brief cooldown is forecast for parts of the East thanks to the passage of a cold front.
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