Exceptionally warm temperature spike seen across U.S., Canada, and UK

  

September 28, 2011 – LONDON – Met Office forecasters say the hot spell will last until Sunday after a weather system which usually bakes Greek and Turkish beaches was pushed thousands of miles northwest by high pressure. The warm weekend will represent the highest October temperatures for 26 years. Temperatures will peak from Wednesday to Sunday, with between 78.8F (26C) and 82.4F (28C) expected daily in the south, with up to 78.8F (26C) in the north and 75.2F (24C) in Scotland. The Indian summer means Britain will be hotter than Hawaii’s island of Kauai, which is forecast to only reach 80.6F (27C) this week, as well as parts of the Mediterranean, such as Athens and Rome, which yesterday were 80F (27). The warm spell represents highs well above the average maximum temperatures for autumn: September’s average is 63.5F (17.5C) while October is 56.5F (13.6C). It will also be a pleasant change from the summer, when July and August were both colder and wetter than normal. Coupled with the buffeting the nation received from the aftermath of Hurricane Katia, they combined to make, for many, the worst summer since 1993. This week, the Met Office said most areas will be dry, with Monday seeing pleasant temperatures before the hot air sweeps in tonight and the mercury begins to climb. Forecasters believe Sunday will be the last day of exceptional heat, before temperatures reduce gradually through the first half of next week while remaining warm in the south. The only rain likely is occasional showers tomorrow (Tues) along the west coast, with western Scotland seeing heavier rain on Wednesday and Thursday, and some showers in western Scotland and north-west England from Friday. Steven Keates, a Met Office forecaster, said: “Temperatures are on the up and will be exceptionally warm for the time of year from Tuesday, continuing until the end of the week at least. -Telegraph

Denver: Take along the shades, short sleeves and sunscreen today because Denver will flirt with record heat for the date, the National Weather Service said Sunday. The forecast high for today is 88 degrees. The record for Sept. 26 is 90 degrees. Last year, Denver tied the 90- degree benchmark set in 1892. The 30-year average for the date is 74 degrees, according to weather data. Temperatures should cool quickly Monday evening, however, tumbling to a low of 53 degrees before midnight, forecasters said. Sunny skies will continue over the city through the workweek, with the heat subsiding to a more seasonable 79 degrees Tuesday before bouncing up to 85 Wednesday, 7 degrees short of the record for that date set last year. –Denver Post

Idaho sets new fall heat record: If you thought it was hot in the City of Trees Saturday — you were right. The temperature crossed the 100 degree mark, topping out at 101. It marks a new record high for the day in Boise – and is the latest in the year the National Weather Service has ever recorded triple digits. -KTVB

Corpus Christi, Tx — Monday was another new September record high in Corpus Christi, according to the National Weather Service. The 100 degrees it reached at the Corpus Christi International Airport broke the record of 99 degrees set in 2005. It is the sixth time this September that the mercury has reached at least 100 degrees and the fifth new record daily high for the month. -Caller

 Syracuse, NY – The National Weather Service’s predicted high of 84 degrees today in the Syracuse area would come within a degree of the record. The record high temperature for Sept. 26 is 85 degrees set in 2007, according to the weather service’s records. Even though we won’t set a record, it will still be pretty warm for September in Syracuse. The average high is 68 degrees. –Syracuse

Canada – Penticton’s last great stand in summer weather may have gone out with a record-breaking bang. Residents who felt a bit flustered on Saturday were right if they thought things were a bit hotter than usual, as Environment Canada confirms a record was broken for high-flying temperatures. On Sept. 24, Penticton airport measured the temperature at 32.3 C — blasting the previous bar of 27.8 C set on the same date in 1967. “On the 24th, it was 32.3, which is the all-time record for that day,” meteorologist Doug Lundquist said. –BC Local News