Summer-like temps continue in Philadelphia, drought conditions worsen in New Jersey. See the full forecast.
The calendar says mid-fall, but the summer-like weather will continue for another two days in the Philadelphia region. It might even be record-breaking.
Tuesday and Wednesday mornings still start crisp, with temperatures in the 50s. After that, sunshine helps the temps rocket up into the mid-70s around noon. You'll want an outer layer for the morning that you can remove later once it gets warm.
Temperatures will climb into the 80s in our afternoons through Wednesday.
Back to that temperature record. Philadelphia has tied a 104-year-old record high temperature, set on Oct. 22, 1920, by hitting 83 degrees today. Atlantic City, New Jersey, has also tied its record heat for October, while Reading, Pennsylvania, has broken its record by one degree by reaching 84 degrees today.
We'll keep it warm Wednesday with a high near 80, and you'll notice a gusty breeze pick up in the afternoon ahead of an advancing cold front.
A change in temps will occur Thursday as a cold front passes through and knocks the temperatures back to the low and mid-60s through Saturday. That's nearly a 20-degree drop from Wednesday's high in the low 80s. However, the cold front will be dry, offering no end to the rainless streak of 23 days so far. A gusty northwest breeze behind the front will also enhance fire danger as winds can cause flames to spread rapidly.
And we desperately need the rain. Measurable rain is 0.01 inch or more, and we haven't had any since Sept. 28.
Another weak front will cross the area Saturday, bringing even cooler air for Sunday. Our dry streak will end if that front produces measurable rain at Philadelphia International Airport. Otherwise, next Sunday, we will tie the longest dry streak in Philadelphia history, and on Oct. 28, we'd break that record. The current streak is 29 days, set 150 years ago in the fall of 1874. The odds are good that it will be broken.
It's not just Philadelphia; many cities up and down the eastern seaboard have gone weeks without rain. The drought is impacting a good portion of the Midwest and mid-Atlantic.
The increasingly dry conditions have created a moderate drought for most of southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and South Jersey. There is also an expanding area of severe drought in central South Jersey, and conditions are likely to move to the next level — an extreme drought — soon.
A drought watch has been issued for all of New Jersey. The last drought watch for the Garden State area was in 2022. The last drought warning was in 2002.
We have had no rain this month, and since Sept. 1, we have only had 0.77 inches of rain, leaving us a whopping 6.05 inches below average for the fall season. These dry conditions, coupled with unseasonably warm temperatures and low humidity, have also created a very high fire danger across the area. Residents are urged to limit the use of any outdoor flames.
In the Tropics, Oscar remains a tropical storm and will continue to impact the Bahamas on Tuesday before moving back out into the Atlantic on Wednesday. Bermuda may see impacts from this storm on Thursday.
Here's your 7-day forecast:
Tuesday: Sunny and warmer. High 83, Low 53.
Wednesday: Sunny and warm. High 80, Low 52.
Thursday: Much cooler. High 65, Low 56.
Friday: Few high clouds. High 64, Low 43.
Saturday: Seasonably mild. High 68, Low 45.
Sunday: Cool sunshine. High 61, Low 45.
Monday: Sunny. High 64, Low 38.
