Record-breaking heat is expected to take hold across states from the Plains to the Northeast this week, causing temperatures to soar to unseasonable highs.
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The early heat wave comes less than a month after oppressive heat choked much of the western United States. Now, it appears to be the turn of the eastern part of the country.
Around 135 million people in the central and eastern U.S. are likely to experience temperatures at least 15 degrees above average Tuesday. Highs well over 80 degrees Fahrenheit will be common in parts of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Washington, D.C.
By Wednesday and Thursday, the summerlike heat is expected to intensify and spread, reaching into the 90s across the mid-Atlantic region, according to the National Weather Service.
More than 100 record-high temperatures could be broken this week, including some all-time April records, according to meteorologists.
In St. Louis, for instance, highs Tuesday could reach 90. In Memphis, Tennessee, highs are forecast to hit 87 on Tuesday, while Richmond, Virginia, could reach 91 before climbing to 94 by midweek.
The Northeast will also bake under temperatures that are more common in the summer than in April. Philadelphia is expected to reach 87 on Tuesday before the heat intensifies to a high of 91 later in the week. New York City could hit 85 on Tuesday, 86 on Wednesday and 87 on Thursday. And in Washington, D.C., highs were forecast to reach 89 on Tuesday and 92 on Wednesday and Thursday.
This week’s heat wave is caused by a sprawling ridge of high pressure that is trapping hot air over much of the eastern half of the country, much like how a lid traps heat in a pot.
Last month, more than 150 daily temperature records and around 50 monthly all-time records were broken across California and the desert Southwest, as temperatures 20 to 40 degrees above average for the time of year persisted for more than a week.
Several cities in California and Arizona reached well into the triple digits.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that it was the hottest March on record for the U.S. The month’s average temperature came out to 50.85, which ranks 9.35 degrees above the 20th century average for March. The findings were based on 132 years of federal weather records.
While it can be difficult to tease out the exact influence of climate change on specific weather events, global warming is known to make heat waves more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting.
Extreme heat is always dangerous — it is known to cause more deaths each year in the U.S. than any other weather event, including hurricanes, floods and tornadoes — but intense heat that comes earlier in the year than usual is especially risky because people’s bodies have not yet become accustomed to it.