Philly sets a record as the temperature reaches 82 degrees
We may be getting a taste of the heat from out West, a meteorologist says. But just a taste.
Under a strong, bloom-coaxing sun, the official temperature in Philly rose to 82 degrees Wednesday, a record for an April 1 — and a normal high for a June 12.
The old record for the date, 81, was set in 1978, after a winter that was colder and almost twice as snowy as this one.
This marked the third consecutive day that the temperature reached at least 80 at Philadelphia International Airport.
And the region may be getting a taste of what the other side of the country has been experiencing, said Alex Staarmann, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly.
“The last few weeks it’s been extremely warm across the West, so we’re coming into the remnants of that,” he said, as upper-air patterns shift.
Not that it’s been exactly cold around here. March’s average temperature finished 5.2 degrees above long-term normals.
But Denver’s March average was better than 12 degrees above normal, according to the weather service.
For Philly, it was the warmest March since ... last March, which ended up being 5.5 degrees higher than the long-term averages, with both being among the warmer Marches in records dating to the 1870s.
The June run in Philly is about to end
A cold front was due to cross the region Wednesday night, setting off showers and possibly thunderstorms, with as much as a half-inch of rain possible.
Precipitation deficits grew in the region in March, when only 1.9 inches of rain was measured officially, less than half of normal. Most of the region remains in a state of moderate drought.
Thanks to the winter’s 30 inches of snow and a prolonged snow cover, however, the ground remains saturated, said Staarmann.
Behind the front, temperatures Thursday afternoon are expected to be about 30 degrees lower than Wednesday’s.
Warmth will return, and so may rain
On Friday, readings are due to head back to 80, and to the low 80s on Saturday, perhaps challenging another record.
A cool-down begins Easter Sunday, with the arrival of another cold front, and continues into the workweek.
The Climate Prediction Center’s two-week outlook extending to tax day has probabilities favoring above-normal temperatures.