Is it a bit too warm for you? Unseasonably warm weather continues to linger in much of the U.S., and meteorologists indicate that a significant cool down isn’t anticipated in the near future.

The National Weather Service reports that “an uneventful fall weather pattern will persist across the continental U.S. through early Friday, with high pressure ensuring mostly sunny skies throughout the Central and Eastern U.S., allowing pleasant conditions to continue.”

While temperatures might dip slightly on Thursday in the Midwest and East, immediate relief is unlikely, as temps are expected to remain substantially above average across the eastern two-thirds of the country into the following week, according to Weather.com.

Interestingly, October is turning out to be one of the warmest and driest on record in several U.S. locations, meteorologists have noted.

What’s causing the heat?

The prolonged warm weather is largely attributed to the unusual positioning of the jet stream, which has been situated further north than typical, as stated by AccuWeather’s meteorologist Tom Kines to YSL News. This shift has essentially blocked any cold air from Canada from moving south.

Just how warm has it been? Over two dozen daily temperature records have been broken in the Northeast region this week, as reported by Weather.com.

Additionally, many areas in the U.S. have experienced a lack of rainfall in recent weeks. The dry conditions contribute to higher temperatures, Kines explained.

This dryness persists because moisture from the Gulf of Mexico has been obstructed from traveling northward into the United States.

Cooler weekend ahead, but warmth will return next week

Kines noted that there will be periods of cooler weather over the next couple of weeks, but they won’t last long.

For instance, cooler temperatures are expected to arrive in the northern half of the U.S. later in the week. However, warmer conditions will surge back next week.

“Though, it might not be as significant as the warmth experienced this week,” he added.

A major shift in mid-November?

Kines indicated that indications suggest a significant climate shift could occur in mid-November, which may usher in a sustained period of cooler temperatures nationwide.

Concerning drought conditions

Drought conditions are becoming alarming across the nation, with over 77% of the U.S. categorized as “abnormally dry,” as per the latest U.S. Drought Monitor findings.

“For the last 30 days, much of the country has experienced extreme dryness,” stated Bernie Rayno, chief on-air meteorologist at AccuWeather. “While parts of the Southeast, Florida, and the Carolinas received heavy rainfall from hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with some additional rain in New Mexico and Colorado due to an upper-level low, the majority of the country has remained very dry. Fronts are passing through the region from west to east, but they lack moisture.”

According to Weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce, over two dozen locations east of the Rockies have seen no measurable rainfall this October.

Cities like New York City and Philadelphia stand out in the Northeast, while numerous locations from Columbia, South Carolina, to Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, and St. Louis have also reported no measurable rain.

Philadelphia, New York City, and various other cities are on track to not only have their driest October on record but also their driest month overall since record-keeping began in the 1800s, according to AccuWeather.

“The precipitation forecast for the rest of the month doesn’t seem encouraging for any measurable rainfall,” noted the National Weather Service office in Memphis via X. “We could see this become the driest October ever recorded at our climate locations.”

Global coral bleaching crisis

Globally, significant ocean heat in various areas has led to an unprecedented coral bleaching event, reaching record levels this summer, according to an August report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch. Widespread bleaching has been observed across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean basins, with the most extreme heat stress recorded in August in the west-central Atlantic Ocean near the equator.

During the previous significant bleaching event from 2014-2017, over 65.7% of the world’s corals faced heat stress that led to bleaching. The current event surpassed that percentage in May, and by August, had impacted 75% of the world’s coral reefs since the start of 2023.

Storms this summer provided relief for the Florida Keys, according to Scott Atwell, communications and outreach manager with Florida International University, who supports the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

“Every time temperatures approached critical heat levels, a storm would arrive, lowering them below the bleaching threshold,” Atwell explained. Consequently, surface coral from nurseries has now resumed being placed into the ocean.

Update on Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice

Measurements from satellites at the end of September revealed that sea ice extent in both the Arctic and Antarctic oceans was close to record lows for this time of year.

The Arctic region recorded its seventh lowest sea ice extent in the past 46 years, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Sea ice levels change throughout the year as ice melts and reforms during different seasons, according to observations by NASA’s Earth Observatory. Tracking these changes allows researchers to better comprehend how sea ice reacts to increasing air and water temperatures. In the Arctic, the extent of sea ice refers to the total ocean area that has at least 15% ice coverage.

Overall, the Arctic Ocean has experienced a loss of 95% of its oldest and thickest ice, as detailed in a recent report from the snow and ice data center. Since 1979, the September sea ice extent in the Arctic has reduced at a rate of 12.1% per decade.

“Ongoing warming in the Arctic climate is leading to significant changes on our planet,” stated an update on October 3.

The maximum sea ice extent around Antarctica in September 2024, during the last days of winter in the southern hemisphere, was recorded as the second smallest in the satellite record, only slightly higher than last year’s all-time low, according to the data center.