Heat Wave Enters 7th Day, but the End Is in Sight

The unusually early heat wave that has gripped much of the country may let up early this week, forecasters predict.

The end of the unusually early heat wave that gripped much of the United States over the past seven days is in sight.

But first, the country will need to endure another day, possibly two, of scorching hot temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic States and along the I-95 urban corridor on the East Coast.

The National Weather Service predicts that the heat wave, which has more than 100 million people under heat advisory alerts, will last through early this upcoming week.

The Mid-Atlantic States and cities along the I-95 urban corridor, from Washington, D.C., to New York, will continue to simmer through Sunday. Heat advisories have been issued for areas east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the heat index — a measure of how the heat feels with humidity taken into account — is forecast to range between 100 and 108 degrees.

Already, several decades-old temperature records were broken on Saturday afternoon. Baltimore reached 101 degrees, breaking the daily high temperature record of 100 degrees, set in 1988. And in Dulles, Va., the temperature reached 100 degrees, breaking the previous record of 99 degrees, also set in 1988.

Forecasters say there will be some relief in other parts of the country that were hit hard last week. In New England, record-breaking temperatures have already receded, and forecasters predict that Sunday will bring lower temperatures to the Ohio Valley and the Midwest. This is good news for a region that forecasters described as particularly susceptible to heat-related illnesses, given how anomalous the temperatures were for this time of year.