Several U.S. states are facing “well above average” temperatures this week, as forecasters say a number of records could be matched or broken.
“Well above average temperatures will focus over the heart of the country through the next couple of days with some record-tying/breaking highs possible,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a Sunday post on X.
Forecast maps from the agency suggested that portions of the central and eastern U.S. are facing the greatest departures from average temperatures in the coming days.
“The record-challenging warmth will focus across Texas, the lower Mississippi River Valley and portions of the Southeast [this week],” AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham told Newsweek on Monday. “Temperatures 10-25 degrees above average are expected to occur over a multiday span as warm and humid air flows northward out of the Gulf of America ahead of an approaching storm system late week.”
“In Houston, Texas, temperatures will climb to the upper 70s and lower 80s through Friday, challenging record temperatures nearly every day. Many cities in the aforementioned regions will experience temperatures climbing well into the 70s this week,” Buckingham said.
In a forecast discussion on Monday, the NWS Weather Prediction Center said that above-normal temperatures will persist across a large part of the U.S., stretching from the Interior West through the Plains and into the Southeast, and will spread into the Midwest on Monday before reaching the Northeast Tuesday into Wednesday, “where conditions have been chilly and well below average.”
The WPC said that the biggest departures from normal are expected across the central and southern Plains on Monday, spreading toward the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, where temperatures could run 30 to 40 degrees above average and a few record-tying or record-breaking highs are possible.
Highs in the coming days are forecast to be in the 30s and 40s across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest/Great Lakes, 40s and 50s in the Interior West, 50s and 60s in the middle Mississippi and Ohio valleys, and 60s and 70s across the central/southern Plains and the Southeast, according to the agency.
Meanwhile, the WPC forecast that “gusty, warm and dry downsloping winds east of the Rockies will bring a threat for wildfires to portions of the southern High Plains Monday.”
Farther east, the Mid-Atlantic will stay on the colder side Monday, with highs in the 30s and 40s, before warming into the 40s and 50s on Tuesday. New England will remain “very cold” on Monday, with highs in the teens and 20s, but temperatures are expected to gradually rise into the 20s and 30s Tuesday, with 40s possible by Wednesday. The West Coast will run slightly below average, with highs mainly in the 40s and 50s across the Pacific Northwest and 50s and 60s in California, according to the WPC.
