Forecast: The East Coast’s First Summer Heat Wave Is on Its Way

Prepare to sweat on the East Coast through next week. The first heat wave of the summer is coming.

The weather pattern is shifting, and a heat dome will traverse from the West to the Eastern United States, baking most of the eastern half of the country, including major cities from Chicago to New York, in stifling temperatures for days.

What makes this noteworthy and potentially dangerous is the timing. The first heat wave of the season can come as a shock to the human body, which hasn’t entirely adapted to summer swelter.

New Yorkers, for example, have had a moderately light season thus far, with temperatures not yet reaching a Popsicle-melting 90 degrees. Central Park typically hits 90 for the first time in the first week of June.

Here are three things to know about next week’s heat.

• Temperatures will feel warmer than the forecast calls for, making it feel over 100 degrees at times.

• The heat wave will be widespread across the entire eastern half of the United States, with temperatures struggling to fall below 70 degrees when the sun goes down, providing little overnight relief.

• Daily records could be broken in the Midwest and Northeast, but these will likely not be monthly or all-time records.

These temperatures are abnormal for June

As far as summer heat waves go, this isn’t necessarily extreme. According to Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md., it is more likely to be a “typical summer heat wave and is “not an event to overhype.”