Wild temperature swings: Today running hot but remarkably rapid cold dip coming

WORCESTER - The city was on the cusp of record-high temperature on Thursday, and the same was the case for Friday, according to the National Weather Service. That level of heat is not typical for early June, and another outlier is expected this weekend as temperatures are expected to drop like a boulder.

Forecasters expect the temperature to dive roughly 30 degrees — to a high in the mid-50s.

Worcester's expected weekend rapid cooling is just a single degree off of the historical record for a 24-hour drop in temperature in the city since the 1960s, according to meteorologists.

A heat record for Thursday and Friday was not absolutely out of the question in some parts of the city, as there can be slight swings in air temperature, according to meteorologist Bill Leatham with the National Weather Service.

"We're approaching record high, no matter where you are in Worcester," Leatham said. "Now it looks like temperatures will fall short based on our forecast, but that doesn't mean it won't feel hot out."

Readings taken at Worcester Regional Airport called for the upper 80s on Thursday, a few degrees shy of the all-time high of 92 for June 1, set in 1937. Friday's forecast predicted a peak of 88, just a tick below the record high of 89 degrees for June 2, set in 1920.

The Climate Central data organization tracks how much the weather is different than it used to be, due to the climate crisis. For Massachusetts, on June 1, the group predicted a high temperature that would be about 15 degrees higher than a June 1 in preindustrial days before carbon emissions from man-made activity caused global heating.

Heat health hazards in play in Mass.

As temperatures creeped near 90 this week, potential health hazards come into play.

Spending time in the heat, where the "feels like" temperature exceeds 90, can be a problem for high-risk individuals. Thirty years ago, the number of days above 90 degrees in Worcester would have been around seven days.

This year, approximately 16 days are expected to reach or exceed 90 on the heat index, according to First Street data organization, which tracks climate risk.

This weekend's weather could be out of the ordinary

"Definitely atypical" is how Leatham described the 35-degree downward swing expected from Friday's high of 88 to Saturday's peak of 53 degrees.

• The 35-degree difference is the second-highest numerical drop in a 24-hour period in Worcester's history for June since 1949. It is just one degree short of the record — a 36-degree drop in our city.

• That benchmark was set on June 10, 1968, with a crash from 86 degrees to 50 degrees.

• May ended with string a sunny, clear-sky days, with the last 12 days sitting near or over 70 degrees. That stretch of temperature is unusually high, according to historical averages over a 30-year period from 1991 to 2021.

Here is what April looked like, charted from 1980 to 2023 for Worcester County:

The Telegram & Gazette is investigating the effects of a rapidly heating planet on people who live in our city. Follow along with "City on Fire" as we report the struggle with summer temperatures, even in New England. This is part of the USA TODAY project Perilous Course. Contact reporter Henry Schwan to be included in a story if you have been affected by heat: expense of air conditioning or lack of it, health risks, less access to green space, concern about pets and animals in the summer conditions, worry about an older loved one, etc.

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Notable June weather change: Worcester going quickly from hot to cold