A blast of hot weather will sweep into the eastern U.S., toppling records, sparking energy demand and bringing sultry conditions to New York City and Washington by the middle of next week.

Washington will likely reach a high of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) on the National Mall on Wednesday, while New York’s Central Park is set to reach 87 F, the National Weather Service said. The heat will extend across much of the mid-Atlantic and Southeast with at least 165 daily records expected to be threatened or broken next week.

On average, Washington usually has its first 90 F-degree day around May 19 so the extremes are arriving earlier and likely drive energy demand. It could also potentially leading to some transportation issues, as heat can swell railroad tracks and overhead wires slowing trains. PJM Interconnection LLC has issued a hot weather alert “for expected increases in electricity demand, or load.”

“Temperatures are expected to approach 90 degrees in these regions, which is atypical for mid-April,” said PJM, which operates a 13-state grid in the eastern U.S.

The high temperatures will linger in Washington and points south through at least Friday. Dry weather and warm temperatures have also raised the prospect of brushfires across the eastern U.S., New York, Pennsylvania, southern New England and parts of Georgia.

On average, Washington usually has its first 90-degree day on May 19 and if the forecast holds this year will likely be among the 10 earliest, said Joe Wegman, a forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. The earliest 90-degree reading was March 22, 1907.

The heat will be caused by a large ridge of high pressure that blocks cold fronts from sweeping across the continent potentially bringing relief, while at the same time pumping air out of the tropics and the Gulf of Mexico. By Thursday, the worst of the heat will start to retreat from New York and Philadelphia, which is set to reach a record 89 F Wednesday, Wegman said.

The looming warmth in the eastern U.S. comes just weeks after an unusual heat wave set records across California and the Southwest, melting the region’s much-needed snow pack and raising the specter of drought and wildfires later this year.

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(With assistance from Naureen S. Malik.)

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