The heat will soon ease on the way to the Northeast, but the southern plains will sizzle for a little while longer
Record heat days this week in large swaths of America are finally showing at least some signs of abating, especially in the North and Northeast, but for others, the September scorching spell is still on.
On Friday, the Northeast and parts of the mid-Atlantic will continue to swelter for a final day, with temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s — a few degrees cooler than the past few days. But with high humidity amid a very humid air mass, it will feel like the upper 90s. Heat warnings extend from New York City to Boston on Friday.
But relief is on the way. A cold front, currently moving through the Northeast, is expected to bring weekend temperatures down to seasonal levels although it comes with the cost of some possible severe thunderstorms.
In the South Plains, the FOX Forecast Center said dozens of daily record highs are expected to fall in the coming days, and extreme heat warnings remain in place for much of Texas.
There, triple-digit heat will remain common through the weekend before temperatures finally start to cool a bit early next week.
On Thursday, about 46 cities set or tied new high temperature records, including New York City, Raleigh and Dallas — some of which broke the daily record by several degrees. This follows another record high of 30 set on Wednesday.
Hot weather has led some schools across the country to shorten class schedules this week, including in philadelphia, Due to the extreme heat and lack of air conditioning.
Baltimore has issued a Code Red Heat Advisory through Thursday. The temperature at Washington Dulles Airport reached 100 degrees on Wednesday for the first time ever in September. This is an all-time record high for the airport, not seen since 1960.
Pennsylvania State Police said it was so hot this week that one of their K9s contracted a heat-related illness during a search Wednesday. The dog has since been released from veterinary care.
ERCOT, Texas’ largest energy supplier, released a weather report through Saturday warning that power demand will be high and will transition to an emergency state on Wednesday.
“ERCOT is bringing all available generation online, and releasing any remaining reserves, using the demand response to reduced electricity demand. ERCOT is also working with independent system operators (ISOs) and out-of-state market participants for additional generation capacity,” the company said in a statement. statement.
The company was able to keep power flowing on Wednesday without requiring a power outage but is still asking to conserve power over the weekend.
On Thursday, ERCOT issued another conservation appeal, which once again succeeded in keeping the lights on.
Peak energy use typically occurs in the late afternoon and early evening when homeowners turn down the temperatures on their air conditioner thermostat.
“Operating reserves are expected to be lower this afternoon due to continued high temperatures, high demand, low wind and reduced solar generation in the afternoon and evening hours,” ERCOT said this week. “We ask Texas businesses and residents to conserve electricity, if it is safe to do so.”
Original article source: The heat will soon ease on the way to the Northeast, but the southern Plains will sizzle for a little longer
