Heat wave in Atlanta | Latest forecast temperatures

ATLANTA — We’re turning up the heat in Atlanta! The forecast temperatures are the warmest we’ve seen so far this year.

The 80s are expected every afternoon through Memorial Day weekend (the unofficial start of summer for many). Although high temperatures can dip just below 90°, summer heat is imminent.

The first average 90° day in Atlanta is May 31, but it’s not uncommon to be in the 90s this time of year.

The first recorded day was April 23, 1980, and last year our first 90° day was May 14. The last one was July 28, 1961.

The “normal” high temperature in Atlanta climbs to 90° on July 9 and stays there until August 5.

An average year in the city brings 47 days of 90° or hotter heat, but Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport achieved a whopping 91 90° days in 2019 – the record.

The coming week is just a taste of the heat that awaits us this summer. The Climate Prediction Center’s three-month forecast calls for temperatures likely warmer than average here in Georgia and much of the continental United States.

While this outlook can’t tell us how extreme the heat will be or how many 90° days summer will bring, the trend indicates that there will be many “dog days of summer” ahead.