Many Americans are reaching for their jackets less than a week after a sweltering heat wave pushed temperatures to record highs, as a cold front sweeps across the country
The cooler weather, which will sink temperatures between 5 and 20 degrees lower than July averages, will primarily affect the Upper Midwest, causing thunderstorms from Michigan to Illinois to eastern Missouri on Friday.
Temperatures on Friday will average 75 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago, 70 degrees in Boston and 86 degrees in Charlotte, N.C. Saturday looks to be a little cooler than Friday.
'The quick change of air mass to cool Canadian air is unusual in that the northwest flow is also going to last a week or two,' said Bill Karins, a meteorologist for NBC News. 'Typically a cool spell in the summer would last one or two days.'
The cool air comes as a relief after a week of excessive warmth that baked every region of the country with several days of record-breaking highs pushing the heat index above 100 degrees.
Last week should be the worst of the summer in terms of heat, according to Boston meteorologist David Epstein.
Saying that he believes the worst of the heat is over, Epstein explained that severe heatwaves aren't sustainable as the summer wears on due to a number of factors including less daylight and the sun being at a lower angle, 'the likelihood of a weeklong heat wave starts to diminish.'
As the cold front started to affect the Northeast on Thursday, temperatures in New York dipped below 70. Occasional rain and wind had many New Yorkers bundled up in coats.
It was quite a change from last week, when the temperature in Manhattan's Central Park topped 90 for six straight days, inching down only to 89 by 11 p.m. Friday. Consolidated Edison said it broke a record for electricity usage that day. The utility used 13,214 megawatts at 2 p.m., topping the old mark of 13,189 from July 22, 2011.
In Milwaukee, where three people died of heat-related causes last week, temperatures will remain in the low 70s throughout the weekend.
Thunderstorms are expected across most of the Midwest on Saturday before moving to the East Coast on Sunday.
The destruction is coming by way of sudden peaking and falling of energy of the environment. We review the climate change from new perspective of two opposing forces, that sustains the balance and our activity actually accelerating the change.
Two opposing energy cycle are; one unwinding and other winding. It governs the earth's environment forming the day and night and climatic cycles. These cycles used to give way to each other smoothly over a period of time. There are many layers of grid point around earth through which this changes occur. When we humans intrude this cycle unilaterally increasing the heat and intervene into the night cycle in which earth works to cool, the grid point dissolves accelerating the changes. This is manifesting into abrupt peak and fall of heat leading to flash floods, snows, earth quakes. Eventually it ends in huge volcanic eruptions. Volcanic dust is known to cool earth. It is in predictable path. We can survive the destruction provided we awaken and develop global energy management of the environment . With vested interest, who are salve to money virtually ruling all nations, we might end up in giving huge price before we awaken - Noble Laureate James Lovelock has predicted large scale destruction of humanity [in billions] because of heat. - I wish and pray that leaders of nations awaken before this happens - [Link]