The U.S. heat wave scorching the Interstate 95 corridor, Ohio Valley and central Plains will start breaking on Thursday and Friday, AccuWeather reported, dropping daily highs endured over the Fourth of July holiday as much as 10 to 15 degrees.
Temperatures had reached 100 degrees in many of those places.
A high-pressure system at the root of the heat wave had been keeping cooler air from the jet stream bottled up in Canada and was expected to weaken, AccuWeather said, allowing the cooler air to dip into the United States on Thursday and Friday.
Temperatures in the Northeast are expected to fall into the mid-70s to the middle to upper 80s by Friday and Saturday, and AccuWeather meteorologists said the temperature drop will feel like 20 degrees because of tumbling humidity levels.
"Friday is when our change begins as a decent, but stretched out cold front begins to transit the area," WPIX-TV meteorologist Joe Cioffi said on the website NYC Weather Now. "Next weekend, the skies will be a deep blue, the haze will be gone, and the air cleaned out temporarily.
"Saturday is looking breezy and comfortable, highs in the low 80s. Sunday is looking equally as beautiful, maybe a little less breeze, but comfortable with highs in the low 80s."
In the Midwest, temperatures in places like Chicago are expected to fall to the upper 70s to lower 80s on Friday and Saturday, replacing heat that hovered around 90, AccuWeather said.
The National Weather Service reported that showers and thunderstorms will come with the cold front making its way across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and the Northeast. A heavy rainfall threat will be focused across the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday as cooler air arrives and interacts with the very humid airmass in place.
The weather service added that plenty of moisture is expected to remain in place across much of the Gulf Coast region through Friday and that will support numerous showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours.
Meanwhile, the heat wave will slide to the West and Southwest, threatening triple-digit highs in many places already battling wildfires and dry conditions.
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