Philly's longest heat wave of 2016 is toast, but another on the way

The region's most sustained heat wave of the summer ended Monday afternoon with a front that brought storms and cooling winds, but forecasters are already looking ahead to the next hot stretch, from later this week into the weekend, which promises even higher temperatures.

Monday's high, 96 at 1:26 p.m., matched Thursday's for the hottest day of the summer so far and marked the fifth consecutive day of temperatures reaching the 90s, the longest such stretch of the summer.

The extreme heat ended when strong thunderstorms rumbled through, bringing with them the usual mayhem.

Several large tree limbs were ripped down in Haverford Township, Delaware County; a thunderstorm gust of 47 m.p.h. was recorded in Blackwood, Camden County; a flood advisory was posted for parts of Burlington and Camden Counties; and a severe-thunderstorm watch remained in effect until 8 p.m. for the region.

The storms, however, knocked about 20 degrees off the official temperature at Philadelphia International Airport between 3 and 5 p.m.

Forecasts are calling for the mercury to top out in the high 80s from Tuesday through Thursday.

But the next heat wave, expected to start Friday, could bring the highest temperatures yet this summer, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters say to expect the high to hit the mid-90s on Friday, and the upper 90s Saturday and Sunday - with the potential for triple-digit readings.

"The first 100-degree day should be within reach for the I-95 urban corridor and interior Delmarva on Saturday and possibly Sunday if the cold front is slow to arrive," a weather service forecast discussion said.

Such temperatures would be the highest the city has seen in recent years. The weather service said the last time the mercury reached at least 98 was exactly three years ago, on July 18, 2013. And the last time the region saw a 100-degree day was a year before, on July 18, 2012, the record for the date.