The U.S. weather map looks a little like Batman nemesis Two-Face as September comes to an end. Two-Face is blisteringly scarred on one side and cool and chill on the other.
That’s America in a nutshell, with record-high temperatures on the right half of the country and cool – and in some cases snowy – conditions in the West.
The heat and high temperatures that are expected to last into next week, according to AccuWeather meteorologists, are raising estimated cooling costs for a number of major U.S. cities, according to an AccuWeather analysis.
Boston (34.2% higher), Atlanta (33.5%), Washington, D.C. (27.6%) and Cincinnati (27.1%) have experienced significantly higher estimated cooling costs compared to normal for the period from May 1 through Sept. 26.
Many cities across the Southeast have broken multiple daily high-temperature records so far in September. Atlanta, for example, has already set six daily high-temperature records this month. And on Thursday, three other Georgia cities (Alma, Savannah and Augusta) were among six U.S. cities to set new records.
Atlanta could set a record for most 90-degree days in one year. The city already has had 83 days where the high temperature was at least 90 degrees; the record, going back to 1930, is 90 days, which occurred in 1980 and 2011.
Other cities with elevated estimated cooling costs include Salt Lake City (23.5% higher), Birmingham (22.3%), Philadelphia (20.8%) and New Orleans (19.1%).
As the upper-level pattern over the South remains relatively unchanged, many of the Southern cities will experience well-above-average temperatures into early October.
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