A Northeast heat wave will bring summerlike 90s to much of the Northeast early this week and could flirt with some all-time May record highs in a few places, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Slow-Moving Sizzle

A zone of sinking air moving eastward at a turtle's pace began in the West earlier last week and was responsible for record warmth from coast-to-coast. This temporary bubble of high pressure has set up near the East Coast, and coupled with warm southwesterly winds, is sending temperatures soaring in much of the East.

Forecast

The map at the top of the article where we may have daily record highs the next few days in the East, including several dozen cities from North Carolina to New England.

Highs through Wednesday will soar well into the 90s as far north as parts of northern New England.

Along the Interstate 95 corridor, middle to upper 90s are forecast, including Boston and the New York City.

In Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., forecast highs could flirt with their all-time May records, which are:

- Baltimore: 98 degrees on five different dates, most recently May 30, 2011

- Philadelphia: 97 degrees on May 30-31, 1991

- Washington, D.C.: 99 degrees at Reagan National Airport on May 31, 1991

This mid-May heat wave could match the hottest temperature all last summer in the Nation's Capital (99 degrees at Reagan National Airport on June 24, 2025).

One small solace of this forecast is it will only be modestly humid in the Northeast, with dew points only as high as the 50s or 60s expected, rather than the oppressive 70s often found in summer.

(MORE: What Does The Dew Point Mean?)

Relief?

Though accompanied by showers and thunderstorms, some relief will arrive in the interior Northeast Wednesday, with highs only in the 70s at most from northern Vermont to western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

By Thursday, the cold front will have cleared much of the Northeast, with mainly 60s or low 70s for highs, though some showers and storms could linger in parts of Virginia and the Carolinas.

(MAPS: 10-Day US Forecast Highs/Lows)

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.