2026 4th of July Heatwave

[michsnowfreak]

17 minutes ago, King James said:

Downgrading over a degree or two is lol. Hot as shit out, just like the previous 3 days

Actually its more like 3-5° each day here. And again, who said its NOT hot as shit out? That is/was a given. 

Imagine a snowstorm calling for 8-10" and you get 4-6" and say "it still snowed". That would never fly here lol

[King James]

No it’s hot as shit out, same as the other days

[King James]

“Hey it’s only 101 today when yesterday was 103, this is different and awesome”

[Powerball]

16 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

Actually its more like 3-5° each day here. And again, who said its NOT hot as shit out? That is/was a given. 

Imagine a snowstorm calling for 8-10" and you get 4-6" and say "it still snowed". That would never fly here lol

 

That is (unironically) a very good analogy, lol...

[michsnowfreak]

17 minutes ago, King James said:

No it’s hot as shit out, same as the other days

Once again....who said its not hot?

[King James]

Good stuff dude

[BeastFromTheEast]

42 minutes ago, King James said:

No it’s hot as shit out, same as the other days

It’s July in the MW, it gets hot every year. Nothing HISTORIC about this stretch tho for most peeps.
 

Not too many people are going to look back in 20 years and remember the great 4th of July heatwave of 2026. 
 

Otoh there are quite a few heatwaves from the mid-late 90s and 2000s that I can still remember vividly. 

[Chicago Storm]

ORD and MDW both topped out at 95° yesterday.

[Chicago Storm]

1 hour ago, King James said:

Downgrading over a degree or two is lol. Hot as shit out, just like the previous 3 days

the extreme heat warning was borderline as it was.

personally i was fine with the issuance (and wanted it), but it was borderline in general.

[Powerball]

1 hour ago, Powerball said:

So multiple things can be true, and your post is also misleading on several points...

1. Yes, Detroit did see its most consecutive number of 95*F+ temps (2) in this stretch since 2011. Yes, it's currently 92*F and the heating cycle for today is technically not over, but as dewpoints begin to pool upward for the remainder of the day after mixing down to the mid/upper 60s ahead of the MCV over Lake Michigan, DTW will likely fall short of 95*F today.

2. Coverage-wise, it is/was certainly the most expansive heatwave since 2012.

*HOWEVER*

2. Your claim that it's the warmest stretch since 2011 is debatable at best. Definitely true in terms of overnight lows, but terms of duration for 90*F+ highs (6 days) and warmest daytme high (99*F), that distinction goes to 6/27 - 7/2 in 2012. 

3. Relative to the aggressive highs in the model outputs, the forecast highs in the NWS grids as well as the duration of this heatwave that was originally projected (which was at least through the weekend versus ending today), this event was a bust. There's no getting around that.

 

95*F still did manage to happen after all at the last possible moment (5pm obs).

So that's 3 total for Detroit this heatwave..

[cmillzz]

This is a historic heatwave… just not for this region. A sudden, significant eastward shift in the ridge spared much of the Midwest from significant triple-digit heat. Otherwise, cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Des Moines likely would have some days over 100°F.

Philadelphia hasn't been as fortunate. The city reached 103°F yesterday, breaking the daily record (or tying at least), and climbed to 102°F today. Another 100°F day tomorrow would make this only the third time in its 150+ years of weather records that Philadelphia has recorded three consecutive days of 100°F or higher.

What makes this especially impressive is that this is occurring in a developing super Niño year (pre Niño summers in general tend to have cooler summers). It’s not the biggest sample size, but there’s no precedence for a heatwave of this magnitude occurring anywhere east of The Rockies.

[michsnowfreak]

45 minutes ago, cmillzz said:

This is a historic heatwave… just not for this region. A sudden, significant eastward shift in the ridge spared much of the Midwest from significant triple-digit heat. Otherwise, cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Des Moines likely would have some days over 100°F.

Philadelphia hasn't been as fortunate. The city reached 103°F yesterday, breaking the daily record (or tying at least), and climbed to 102°F today. Another 100°F day tomorrow would make this only the third time in its 150+ years of weather records that Philadelphia has recorded three consecutive days of 100°F or higher.

What makes this especially impressive is that this is occurring in a developing super Niño year (pre Niño summers in general tend to have cooler summers). It’s not the biggest sample size, but there’s no precedence for a heatwave of this magnitude occurring anywhere east of The Rockies.

Clearly the east got the brunt of it. Im not as familiar with their summer climo so I really didnt follow where this would rank. 

Kind of surprised that none of their subs even have a thread for it.

[Powerball]

9 hours ago, cmillzz said:

This is a historic heatwave… just not for this region. A sudden, significant eastward shift in the ridge spared much of the Midwest from significant triple-digit heat. Otherwise, cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Des Moines likely would have some days over 100°F.

Philadelphia hasn't been as fortunate. The city reached 103°F yesterday, breaking the daily record (or tying at least), and climbed to 102°F today. Another 100°F day tomorrow would make this only the third time in its 150+ years of weather records that Philadelphia has recorded three consecutive days of 100°F or higher.

What makes this especially impressive is that this is occurring in a developing super Niño year (pre Niño summers in general tend to have cooler summers). It’s not the biggest sample size, but there’s no precedence for a heatwave of this magnitude occurring anywhere east of The Rockies.

The bolded is certainly impressive, and surprising.

[Geoboy645]

11 hours ago, michsnowfreak said:

Clearly the east got the brunt of it. Im not as familiar with their summer climo so I really didnt follow where this would rank. 

Kind of surprised that none of their subs even have a thread for it.

They won't have a thread for one of the worst heatwaves on record for their area, but will have a thread for an hr 240 Noreaster on Nov 15th...