Break out the fans and air conditioners and get the pools ready as Mother Nature has a stretch of hot, humid weather just in time for the Memorial Day weekend for portions of the Midwest and East.
According to AccuWeather, building heat over the southern Plains is forecast to surge northeastward later this week.
While the pattern is only likely to last several days, it will feature the highest actual temperatures and AccuWeather.com RealFeel temperatures of the season so far.
Early-season warmth will evolve into a several-day stretch of 90-degree temperatures and high humidity with the core over the Ohio Valley states Friday into the Memorial Day weekend.
RealFeel temperatures will top 100 degrees and could reach 105 degrees for a few hours each day from St. Louis, Mo., to Cincinnati, Memphis and Nashville.
Ninety-degree temperatures and near 100-degree RealFeel temperatures will also nose eastward into Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond.
Late in the weekend, the heat is likely to collapse from northwest to southeast from thunderstorms. As a result, folks enduring several days of heat will want to keep an eye on the sky during the holiday itself.
Interestingly, folks along the southern Atlantic Seaboard could have a visit from a tropical system later in the weekend with downpours and locally gusty thunderstorms.
While many folks may welcome the heat on the first unofficial weekend of summer, many people will be sweltering away at memorial services, graduations and sports venues ranging from baseball to auto racing.
Be sure to drink plenty of fluids if you will be exposed to the heat this weekend. Avoid prolonged strenuous activity from late morning through the afternoon. Try to take breaks from the sun, if possible.
Heat could also raise mechanical issues for highway travelers and weekend automobile race activities.
Highway travelers are reminded to make sure their vehicle is ready to handle hot weather conditions. It is best to check tire pressure levels after the vehicle has been parked overnight. Only add radiator fluid to the reserve reservoir. Never take the radiator cap off of a hot engine.
Driving at excessive speed with or without properly inflated tires during hot weather can exceed the threshold of what the tire is designed to handle and could lead to a dangerous blowout.