Heat ‘fortunately on the way out’
Phew, that was hot!
After record-high temps surged into the 90s over the weekend — and it felt like more than 100 degrees in some spots — the region will get a break from the sweltering heat in the coming days.
Temps in the Boston area and across the Bay State are expected to drop 20 to 25 degrees following the unseasonably hot weekend of dangerous heat advisories.
“The heat is fortunately on the way out, and today (Sunday) is the last day of the heat,” said Andrew Loconto, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office.
“It’s been hot and really humid for this time of the year,” he said. “It’s coming a little early this year.”
Worcester on Sunday tied the city’s record high temp of 90 degrees on May 22, which was previously set in 1992 and 1911. It was the second straight day that Worcester had tied its record high. On Saturday, a record-high temp of 88 degrees there tied the old record from 1975.
Boston’s temps varied tremendously across the city — about a 30- degree difference at one point Sunday afternoon, from the mid90s to the mid- 60s.
It was much cooler at the coast for most of the day, but then Boston Logan International Airport had a measurement of 88 degrees as the sea breeze weakened and hot air rushed in. The 88 degrees at Logan neared the record high of 93 degrees set in 1959.
The hottest heat index that the National Weather Service reported Sunday afternoon was in Natick, where it felt like an oppressive 102 degrees. Norwood’s
heat index came in at a brutal 99 degrees.
“Prolonged exposure to that heat can really lead to heat-related issues, so frequent breaks in the shade and staying hydrated is really important,” Loconto said.
Moving ahead, a cold front will be coming to the region and bringing more normal temps for this time of year. The first half of
the week should be dry and pleasant.
“It will definitely be more seasonable,” Loconto said. “A typical late May weather pattern for us.”
Temps on Monday should be in the 70s for the interior, and in the 60s along the coast.
Tuesday’s temps are expected to drop into the 60s for most of the region. Then temps should climb
back into the 70s for Wednesday.
“Then later in the week, temperatures might warm back up again,” Loconto said, but added that temps won’t get close to this past weekend. “There could be scattered showers and thunderstorms around Thursday or Friday, but it’s hard to say right now which day will have a better chance for that.”