Scientists develop method that may predict East Coast heat waves up to 50 days in advance

“The pattern popped out at us really clearly,” said Karen A. McKinnon, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, Colo., and the lead author of the study. Not only did it exist on those hot days — defined as about 12 degrees hotter than normal summer temperatures — “but importantly, up to seven weeks before,” Dr. McKinnon said.