Finally, it’s time to order those pumpkin-spiced lattes. Heat relief is on the way for millions across the U.S. as the oppressive heat dome over the middle of the country shifts west and begins to break down.
The pattern change allows a cold front to usher in cooler, drier air.
“We do have this pattern change here, and we see this high pressure as it’s shifting into the Southwest, bringing these really warm conditions into portions of Arizona and New Mexico and the western tips of Texas, such as El Paso, San Angelo,” said Meteorologist Haley Meier. “But this dip in the jet is also going to be bringing a lot of colder air to portions that been plagued by the heat, such as Mississippi and Alabama, Atlanta.”
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Over 56 million people will feel below-average temperatures Monday. That number jumps to 143 by Wednesday.
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The Midwest, Ohio Valley and Northeast felt a definite cool down late last week and into the weekend when a cold front broke the heat wave that set records from Chicago to Maine to Washington, D.C.
The Northern Plains and upper Mississippi Valley get a reinforcing shot of cooler air Sunday and Monday behind another front. The Central Plains and mid-Mississippi Valley feel cooler Monday and Tuesday. Finally, the heat wave will loosen its grip on the entire South, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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“The weather is finally welcoming in fall even though it didn’t really want to as we started off the month of September,” said Meier. “So this is exactly what we want to see. Get excited about it. Fall football is here, so it is time to enjoy it with those fall temperatures as well.”
Arizona, much of Texas and Louisiana will be out of the dangerous heat and humidity starting Monday, even though temperatures don’t return to more seasonable levels until Tuesday and Wednesday. The NWS Houston office wrote in their discussion that the pattern change is ushering in “not as hot” weather for Southeast Texas.
And it is about time. This summer, 199 cities saw record highs since June 1. In total, the U.S. broke 1,025 daily records. Marathon has so far led with 70 record highs this year. Second for the most daily record highs is Del Rio, Texas, with 47.
Dallas drops below 100 this week, something that has only happened nine times in August and September 2023. The city drops into the 80s mid-week, something residents haven’t felt since July 16. And the forecast on Friday is a refreshing 78 degrees. June 13 was the last time Dallas’ high was in 70s.
This year, Phoenix hit 110 degrees and over for 54 days – a record in a year. This included a record streak of 31 continuous days at or above 100 in July. June, July and August have been the warmest three months on record since record-taking started in 1895. And the desert didn’t cool off at night. On July 19, the low in the Valley of the Sun was 97.
The heat index or feels-like temperatures have been breaking records, too. FOX Weather calculated the number of hours cities have felt above 110 degrees. A handful tallied up a record amount of hours for the year.
Corpus Christi, Texas, leads the pack with 405 hours of dangerous temperatures so far this year. Brownsville came in with 308 hours. New Orleans logged 238, while Phoenix racked up 163.
The NWS states that at that temperature and humidity level, people can suffer heat stroke. Heat cramps or heat exhaustion is likely. Heat stroke is possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity for even healthy people.