Uptick in Rain and Storms to Ride Along with Cooler Temperatures

Records have been falling over the place this week as a stubborn heat wave takes its time to fall apart. The good news for those who are tired of the oppressive heat is that relief is on the way. The bad news is that the cooler temperatures will also come with the threat of rain showers and thunderstorms. Read on for the details of the striking change in the forecast.

Heat Wave Starting to Break Down Across the Eastern U.S.

The temperatures are beginning to fall across the Plains and the Midwest with the relief headed to the Northeast next. As the heat dome loses its grip across the region by the back half of the week, thunderstorms will also fire up in areas where humidity levels continue to clock in at high levels. The cooldown will be particularly noticeable in the Northeast in the coming days.

The last week of weather in the Northeast has been a classic case of "be careful what you wish for." After a chilly and wet start to the summer, many residents were wondering when the heat would finally arrive in this corner of the country. Mother Nature cranked up the thermostat in dramatic fashion, sending the mercury into the upper 90s and the triple digits across the most populated metro areas along the Interstate 95 corridor.

You can expect the downward trajectory to begin on Wednesday across the eastern U.S. The central portions of the nation began to see the change on Tuesday. While the mercury will remain in the 90s for much of the East Coast on Wednesday, readings will fall by up to 20 to 30 degrees beginning on Thursday.

A backdoor cool front coming down from New England and into the mid-Atlantic will serve as the impetus for the lower temperature readings. The movement of the front means that the temperatures will cool from north to south and from west to east. This type of cool front is not a typical occurrence this time of the year. These fronts are generally more prolific during the spring and fall months.

For instance, after sizzling with readings that approached the century mark on Tuesday, Boston will struggle to climb out of the 60s for daily highs on Thursday and Friday after the front moves through. You will find a similar cooldown in New York City. The Big Apple will top out with highs in the 70s by the end of the work week, translating to a change of nearly 30 degrees from Tuesday.

Moisture Machine Forecast to Fire Up Along with Cooler Weather

While the cooler temperatures will certainly be a welcome change for those under extreme heat warnings earlier in the week, the change in the pattern will also come with the risk of severe weather. The silver lining is that the late-week storm activity is not likely to carry the same punch of weather makers from earlier in the season.

A weakening heat dome will naturally pave the way for thunderstorms to fire up over the central and eastern U.S. A ripple in the jet stream will translate to storms for the Southeast as well. Some communities will see the chance of storms for several days in a row.

The edge of the heat dome will first dissipate to the west before shrinking to the north. Forecasters predict that the greatest risk of storms will erupt in areas that did not see the activity earlier in the week along the fringe of the zone.

Places such as Pittsburgh will first see the chance of storms throttle up on Wednesday afternoon and evening. After a lesser risk of storms on Thursday, the unsettled conditions will return to the Steel City on Friday and Saturday. Temperatures will continue to hover in the low 90s for highs in this part of western Pennsylvania.

Buffalo will see the greatest chance of storms on Friday throughout the day and into the evening hours. Rain showers will be the story for the overnight hours into Saturday. The weekend will kick off with a bang with widespread storms in the city on the shores of Lake Erie. Temperatures will bounce around in the upper 70s and low 80s by the end of the week. Winds will also pick up speed as the threat of storms moves into this part of the eastern Great Lakes.

Although Boston will dodge the threat of severe weather, the metro area will still get in on some of the rain action. The city is expecting a soggy Thursday with persistent rain showers and highs that max out in the upper 60s. After a break from the moisture stream on Friday, the shower activity will pick up again after the sun goes down and through the day Saturday. The mercury will begin an upward trend over the weekend, reaching the low 70s for a high on Saturday before climbing back into the mid 80s on Sunday.

Moving to the south, Washington, D.C. will get caught in the crosshairs of afternoon and evening storms beginning on Thursday and persisting through the beginning of next week. While none of the days are expected to be washouts, it will be a good idea to check the hourly forecast before heading out to the National Mall. Friday is shaping up to be the coolest day of the week with a forecast high in the low 80s. From there, the temperatures will once again begin a gradual climb upward.

Looking Back on the Heat Wave

As forecasters had predicted, the peak of the heat wave hit the Northeast on Tuesday. The mercury hit levels that shattered records that dated back to the 1800s. Several more communities in the northeastern U.S. saw temperatures that were the hottest in over a decade. When combined with the high humidity, real feel readings easily surpassed the century mark in some areas.

How hot did it get? Boston notched a top reading of 101 degrees during the peak afternoon heating hours, making it the toastiest day since July of 2011. The city of Philadelphia recorded its first day in the triple digits since July of 2012.

The mercury came just shy of breaking past the century mark in New York City with a high of 99 degrees. This reading was good enough to set a new record for that date in history when the temperatures hit 96 degrees in 1888. It is important to note that the official temperature gauge in New York City is located in Central Park. Just outside of the Big Apple, John F. Kennedy International Airport hit a high of 102 degrees while Newark, New Jersey, reached a top reading of 103 degrees.

Other metro areas that eclipsed the 100-degree barrier on Tuesday included Hartford, Connecticut; Dover, Delaware; and Manchester, New Hampshire.

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