ADVERTISEMENT

NYC Heat to Near Record Before Cooling in ‘Roller Coaster’ Week

NYC Heat to Near Record Before Cooling in ‘Roller Coaster’ Week

(Bloomberg) -- New York City will flirt with record heat Wednesday when the temperature is set to reach 89 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius), just one degree shy of a level that’s only been hit five times on this date in 150 years.

If the mercury reaches 90 on Oct. 2, it will tie a record last felt in 1927. The heat is being driven by a high pressure ridge across the eastern U.S., part of a see-saw effect that’s also seeing a winter storm and frigid cold race across the west. More than three feet (0.9 meters) of snow fell on Montana, where Governor Steve Bullock declared a winter storm emergency.

“A lot depends on the wind and sunshine but certainly the potential is there,” said Tim Morrin, a meteorologist with U.S. National Weather Service in Upton, New York.

In New York, average high temperatures usually hover around 69 to 70 degrees for early October. But the near-record warmth won’t last. As soon as Thursday, the temperature could drop as much as 20 degrees fahrenheit, according to Morrin.

“It will be a real roller coaster as we go through the week,” Morrin said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tina Davis at tinadavis@bloomberg.net, Reg Gale, Joe Richter

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.