Warm weather is expected across the central and eastern United States this week as a weather system across the region will produce a surge of warmth or warm airmass, according to the latest US weather forecast of the National Weather Service (NWS). The hotspot regions include the Ohio Valley, Southern Plains, and the Mid-South before the arrival of a potential cold front later in the week.
The NWS forecast comes following its issuance of a 'Red Flag Warning' for Hawaii and other parts of the Southwest US on Monday, November 6. As the country progresses towards the official 2023 winter season, some states in recent weeks experienced an early season winter storm, particularly in the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the northern and northeastern US.
US Warm Weather Forecast
In its latest short-range forecast, the NWS' Weather Prediction Center (WPC) expects a "very warm weather" that includes potential record-breaking high temperatures with dry conditions for most parts of the central and eastern US through the midweek.
Aside from its US warm weather forecast, the weather service also mentioned the occurrence of cooler temperatures in the North US and rainfall events in the South US by Thursday, November 9, wherein the said WPC forecast is valid.
The US weather agency explains that a southerly flow across the central and southeastern US will generate an "anomalous warmth" for the Great Plains region and the East Coast. This weather event will occur before an expected cold front sweeps this part of the Continental US on Thursday.
Furthermore, the weather agency specifies that multiple areas from the Southern Plains to the central-southern Appalachians could experience record-breaking warm temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Heat Forecast Tools
While the looming warm weather for the US is not expected to be the same level as summer temperatures, it still contains the same parameters used by meteorologists when it comes to measuring warm or high temperatures.
For instance, the NWS has heat forecast tools to determine and gauge heat stress caused by extreme temperatures. This measurement is called 'heat index' which pertains to not only warm temperatures but also how hot it really feels when relative humidity is considered.
US Heatwaves
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "heat alone does not make high temperatures a threat." Instead, the combination of heat and humidity is what makes extremely hot weather or heatwaves deadly, in the context of measuring heat index.
In fact, the NOAA attributes heatwaves to be responsible for killing more people in the US than all other weather-related disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes, combined. In a span of 10 years between 2013 and 2022, heat-related deaths across the US averaged 153 each year.
In a study published in the journal Circulation on October 30, researchers project that rising temperatures could increase heat-related deaths in the US by 300% if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked.
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