AccuWeather: Extreme, Scorching Weather Through August

Story by Carly Porter, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer.
Summer has officially begun and AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range Meteorologist Joe Bastardi is calling for more scorching temperatures to occur over much of the nation through August.
Average summer temperatures will rival some of the hottest summers ever recorded across the eastern half of the nation.
“It’s possible for record-breaking warmth in the first half of July for much of the nation,” said Bastardi.
Between I-80 and I-20 from the Rockies eastward, temperatures will hold between the mid-80s and low 90s F through mid-July.
Humidity and uncomfortable heat will also cover the Great Lakes and much of the Northeast, and south from I-20 to the Gulf Coast through the same period. Temperatures will be slightly above normal, lingering around the low 80s in the Northeast and in the 90s across the south.
“The core of the strongest heat is centered in the Tennessee Valley through June,” said Bastardi.
Temperatures in this region will be in the 90s F with ultra high humidity.
However, tropical systems brewing in the western Caribbean have the potential to cool most of the Southeastern states. Thunderstorms pushing through the Great Lakes and New England have the same cooling ability throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states throughout the summer.
Despite the overall trend for warmth this summer, regions of the western portion of the United States will stay cool.
“Temperatures near or below normal will be confined to the West Coast, Pacific Northwest and perhaps as far east as the western Dakotas,” said Bastardi.
August will feature similar temperatures as July, and September will begin the cooling into autumn.
“August will be similar to July, so much so, I have identical temperatures,” said Bastardi.
With vacation season ramping up and heat in the forecast for much of the nation’s summer, the demand on energy will also be in full force.
As the heat will be cranking over much of the nation, the 2010 hurricane season will also be more active.
Bastardi predicts 18-21 storms, with at least eight impacts and six hurricanes, and two or three of those hurricanes having major landfalls.