Record Heat Bakes Central U.S. On the Eve of Fall

The calendar might say we’re well into the third week of September, but it sure didn’t feel like it in much of the U.S. on Tuesday, and the heat is set to continue for many through the end of the week.

Record highs were recorded on Tuesday afternoon from Kansas to Texas to Colorado, including Garden City, Kansas, where temperatures rose to a scorching 99°, good enough to best the city’s previous daily record.

Other spots that saw the mercury rise to record levels on Tuesday included Colorado Springs, Colorado (90°) and Corpus Christi, Texas (98°), along with several other locations in the Sunflower State of Kansas.

The heat is a product of a big ridge of high pressure building in across the central portion of the country, allowing warm, humid air to flow in from the south. The heat slowly spreads east this week, potentially jeopardizing other records across the Ohio River valley later this week.

Looking for autumn, which officially begins on Thursday morning at 10:21 am EDT? Look west, where a big trough of low pressure will usher in a chilly air mass for the Rocky Mountains later this week.

For WeatherNation: Meteorology Chris Bianchi