October heat wave sets a record

The October heat wave reached some new heights today, smashing temperature records in Philadelphia, New York and Atlantic City.

The high reached 89 at Philadelphia International Airport at 3:59 p.m., a full five degrees above the old record of 84, set way back in 1887, during the first administration of President Grover Cleveland.

At New York's Central Park, the thermometer hit 87, besting the 86 set in 1931. Nevertheless, the ice skating rink at Rockfeller Center opened for the season.

Atlantic City's high of 86 was 3 degrees better than the old record of 83, reached in 1990. Records also fell in Allentown, Reading and Trenton.

Normally, temperatures should be in the mid-60s.

And it's not just in the air. Ocean-water temperatures at the Jersey Shore have been in the low 70s, said James Eberwine, the marine specialist at the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly. That's about 10 degrees above normal.

The warmth is the result of an unusually strong "Bermuda high," so named because it typically is centered near Bermuda, said Eberwine. Winds circulate clockwise around centers of high pressure, so areas to the west - in this case the eastern United States - experience warming winds from the south.

The bake-athon has extended as far west as Chicago, which had a record 87 Sunday.

Thursday's forecast high of 86 would match the record set in 1931. But the endless summer is about to end, perhaps dramatically. A cool front will approach late Wednesday, which could set off strong storms.

"When the temperature is warm," he said, "the capacity of the air to hold moisture increases," which means heavy rain is possible. Eberwine said he wouldn't be surprised to see storms wring out 2 inches in some areas.

The rain would be welcome. Only 0.58 inches of rain has fallen since Aug. 23, and the region is under a drought watch.

The all-time rainfall record on Oct. 8, - 5.53 inches - occurred two years ago after a September in which a paltry 0.21 inches was measured in Philadelphia. It was the second-driest September ever in Philadelphia .

No matter what, by this weekend, some of the chill that descended upon Denver and Phillies' fans on Saturday night will have worked its way eastward.