A summerlike heat wave will hit the East this week, worsening drought

An early heat wave is headed for parts of the East this week, making it feel more like summer.

Temperatures will rise into the 90s across the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, with 80-degree heat stretching from the Midwest to New England – exceeding June averages for around 160 million people. High-temperature records are forecast to be neared, tied or broken in about 600 locations from the Plains to Northeast.

This pattern will exacerbate an already bad drought in the South and in parts of the East, where little rain is forecast over the next two weeks.

This follows the warmest March on record across the United States – one that was also the most unusually warm month on record, a remarkable event boosted by climate change, according to scientist Robert Rohde of Berkeley Earth. Record heat in the contiguous U.S. was much more widespread and extreme than frigid cold in Alaska and Canada.

Unusual summerlike heat

Millions of people will feel warmth more typical of June or July this week, including in the nation’s capital.

Since records began in 1872, the highest temperature measured in D.C. in April is 95 degrees, most recently in 2002. That record may be approached this week, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday. Similar conditions are expected in Baltimore, where the April record is 94 degrees, last reached in 1960.

On Monday, warmth will be most unusual in the Midwest and near the Great Lakes, where high temperatures will reach well into the 70s and 80s.

That heat will intensify and spread eastward on Tuesday, when 90-degree temperature readings are expected in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Temperatures will rise further on Wednesday and Thursday, reaching into the low to mid- 90s.

It will also be 15 to 25 degrees above average in the Northeast and New England on Wednesday and Thursday, when high temperatures will range from the 80s to near 90 in some spots.

The pattern is being driven by a powerful dome of high pressure over the South, whose clockwise circulation is drawing sultry air from a warmer than average Gulf of Mexico – as an unseasonably cold and snowy pattern hits the West and an enhanced risk for severe thunderstorms threatens the Midwest.

Cooler conditions will return to the East next week.

An intensifying drought

Around 79 % of the United States is covered by abnormally dry or drought conditions.

While the Intermountain West and Plains are in dire need of moisture as concerns grow about the coming fire season, the South is dealing with a deep drought of its own.

“We need rain so bad, the drought just keeps getting worse, and now we are fully in the growing season,” Charlotte-based meteorologist Brad Panovich wrote.

In Florida, 95 % of the state is covered by at least severe drought, with North Carolina not far behind at just under 94 %. In Arkansas, almost 92 % of land area is covered by severe drought or worse, with 88 % in Georgia.

A potential super El Niño could contribute to more rain in the region later this year, but not before droughts intensify.

This week’s extreme heat won’t help.