Record warmth is forecast to continue today

The Baltimore region broke a 71-year-old record high Tuesday, and more unprecedented fall warmth is forecast for today.

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport reached 84 degrees, two degrees above a record for Tuesday’s date of 82 degrees, most recently reached in1945. Similar heat is forecast today, and the record for today’s date is also 82 degrees, most recently reached in 1947.

An area of high pressure just to the south of the region is responsible for the unseason- ably warm weather. The zone is centered between the Georgia coast and Bermuda, and is pumping in hot, moist air from the south and southwest, said Dan Hofmann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Baltimore-Washington forecast office.

“It’s not unheard of, but it is unusual,” he said.

The blast of late summer-like warmth came as a surprise as crews began installing the ice rink at the Inner Harbor this week, said Laurie Schwartz, president of the Waterfront Partnership.

Equipment to keep the ice cool was delivered amid the record heat Tuesday, with ice-making scheduled to begin by the end of the month, she said. The rink is scheduled to open Nov. 11.

The weather pattern is forecast to change as a cold front approaches the region Thursday. Scattered showers are possible ahead of the frontal boundary Thursday night into Friday, and the mild spell is expected to turn unusually cold and breezy by Friday night.

Highs Saturday could be stuck in the upper 50s, some 5 to 10 degrees colder than normal for this time of year.