Historic heat wave brings record-high temperatures to Midwest
Midwest cities topped record highs that have been in place for over 100 years.
— -- A rare late-September heat wave has brought record-high temperatures to parts of the Midwest, shattering records that have stood for more than 100 years.
Detroit set a new daily record high on Tuesday with temperatures hitting 93 degrees -- making it the hottest day of the year for the city. Nearby cities Flint and Saginaw, Michigan also saw record highs of the year at 94 degrees and 95 degrees, respectively, on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Chicago marked its seventh-straight day of 90-plus degree weather on Tuesday, which hasn’t occurred since 1988. Cleveland had its longest stretch of 90-degree temperatures in the city’s history this past week. Other Midwest cities topped record highs that have been in place since the late 1800s and early 1900s, according to Accuweather.
"There has never been a heat wave of this duration and magnitude this late in the season in Chicago," the National Weather Service said Tuesday. "Until 2017, there had not been seven consecutive 90+ days in Chicago entirely during the month of September."
Meteorologists have attributed the unseasonably warm weather to a sprawling area of high pressure centered over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
Relief will finally arrive on Wednesday as the front moves east. Chicago's high is expected be a much more seasonal 72 degrees midweek, and highs will only reach the mid-60s by the weekend.
The Northeast has one more day of higher-than-usual temperatures before it too drops into the low-70s by Friday. Buffalo, New York, which had a record high of 88 on Tuesday, will be seeing a low of 44 on Saturday.