Record-Breaking Heat Wave Could Challenge MI Records This Week

MICHIGAN — A record-breaking heat wave will target a 2,000-mile stretch of the country, including Michigan this week. While most of Michigan was expected to see temperatures reach the mid to upper 80s this week, other areas of the country were expected to see triple digits.

The Midwestern heat wave could challenge records in some parts of Michigan, particularly up north, as it settles over most of the state this week. The heat wave was also expected to push records in other Midwestern cities including Madison, Chicago and St. Louis.

Record highs for mid-May heat in most of the state, including the metro Detroit area were between 87-90 degrees, a vulnerable number this week, especially on the west side of the state in areas around Grand Rapids and Traverse City, where highs were expected to reach 90 degrees this week, the National Weather Service said.

On the other hand, the metro Detroit area wasn't expected to get that hot, as highs were expected to hover around the 80 degrees mark this week, the National Weather Service said.

The unseasonable warmth is also expected to make its way to the Northeast coast, reaching all the way to Caribou, Maine, according to AccuWeather.

States as far north as Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin could see temperatures climb into the 90s. Venture outside, though, and it will likely feel more like 100 degrees, forecasters say.

The reason behind the record-breaking heat: a traffic jam in the atmosphere, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

"A massive northward buckle in the jet stream has developed in response to stalled storm off the East Coast," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Brett Anderson said. "As the jet stream buckle builds, heat will expand northeastward through the Mississippi Valley to parts of the Great Lakes region by midweek and then on to the St. Lawrence Valley in the Northeast later in the week."

The heat is expected to topple records set in the 19th and 20th centuries, forecasters say.

The National Weather Service's short-range forecast agrees. According to the NWS Weather Prediction Center, summer-like heat will move through the central and southern Plains on Tuesday before expanding northward into the northern Plains and upper Midwest by Thursday.

The combination of heat and dry conditions is expected to heighten the fire risk from northern Arizona to central Oklahoma and Kansas, according to NWS forecasters. Gusty winds that will develop Tuesday will help fuel the fire potential, especially from the Four Corners region to the central and southern High Plains.