'Ring Of Fire' Thunderstorms To Break Up Intense Heat In MA

MASSACHUSETTS — The record-setting heat surge across Massachusetts could come to a crashing end on Wednesday as a round of severe thunderstorms is set to follow the intense heat across the Northeast.

Boston tied the all-time June record high of 101 degrees early Monday afternoon as the city hit the triple digits for the first time in three years. The all-time record in Boston at any point of the summer is 104 degrees, set on July 4, 1911.

• Record 'Heat Dome' Warnings Across MA: How Sizzling Could It Really Get Tuesday?

"This is an incredibly hot and steamy heat wave for the month of June," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. "Record-challenging high temperatures are expected from the Plains to the Northeast. The worst of the heat and humidity is expected Tuesday afternoon along the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston."

The pattern is referred to in the weather community as a "ring of fire" because thunderstorms form along the edges of the heat dome, AccuWeather explained.

The massive heat dome has engulfed much of the country from Texas to New England. Because the heat dome is warm through most layers of the atmosphere, clouds and storms have difficulty forming.

"However, on the edges of the heat, especially along the northern and western flanks thereof, the air is cooler well above the ground, which makes it easier for clouds to tower and produce thunderstorms," AccuWeather said. "Within this ring, there can be spotty, individual thunderstorms, large clusters of thunderstorms or a solid line of storms that can repeat or meander back and forth as hot and cool air change hands."

According to Accuweather, the temperature at the weather station at Baltimore's Inner Harbor spiked Monday to 104 degrees, breaking the old record of 99 degrees set last year. Newark, New Jersey, reached 101 degrees Monday, breaking its daily record of 99 degrees. Raleigh, North Carolina, tied its daily record of 100 degrees, set last year.

The strong June heat is expected to weaken during the second half of the week, with a dramatic cooldown for part of the Northeast.

"There's even a rare backdoor cool front that will drop southward from New England to part of the mid-Atlantic region during the middle and latter part of this week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said. "This can dramatically drop temperatures by 20-40 degrees in some cases, which is about as big as it gets this time of the year."

Following high temperatures near 100 degrees in Boston on Tuesday, temperatures may be no higher than the 60s on Thursday and Friday behind the front.

The risk of severe thunderstorms will run from Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night across large swaths of the Midwest, Northeast, and parts of the Southeast. Areas from southern Michigan and northern Ohio to New England remain at risk for damaging winds, flash flooding and potential tornadoes as the heat dome gradually weakens.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)