You didn't think this week's NEQ Friday Review would be about anything other than this past week's heatwave... did you?!As pretty much the entire world is aware by now, a massive heatwave engulfed the northeast and mid-Atlantic United States this past week. The heatwave generally kicked off on Sunday, July 4 and it was not until yesterday, Thursday, July 8 that it began winding down. In its wake the heatwave shattered and tied an enormous amount of daily temperature records, including 33 on Monday, 131 on Tuesday and as many as 151 on Wednesday.
Sure heatwaves have plagued the region in years past, and even in 2010 alone some U.S. cities have already experienced similar waves, but this one was pretty special, and dare I say, could actually be repeated again before the summer is over. Why so special? Just check out these readings...
| Sun. 7/4 | Mon. 7/5 | Tues. 7/6 | Wed. 7/7 | Thurs. 7/8 | |
| New York (Central Park) | 96° | 99° | 103° | 100° | 88° |
| Newark (EWR Airport) | 101° | 102° | 103° | 101° | 86° |
| Philadelphia (PHL Airport) | 96° | 98° | 102° | 103° | 89° |
| Baltimore (BWI Airport) | 98° | 100° | 105° | 101° | 93° |
| Washington, DC (DCA Airport) | 94° | 99° | 102° | 102° | 93° |
What a week it was! A cool down is in store this weekend but temperatures are still expected to be hot by many standards. Expect lots of upper 80s and lower 90s... but hey, I guess it'll feel better than it did this past week. And remember, with such a hot, dry air mass in place, the next big concern for the remainder of the summer could be drought.
2010 is definitely shaping up to be record-breaking and memorable by many weather extremes!
Enjoy your weekend, and stay cool!
