Will a fall heat wave hit the Myrtle Beach area in October?

As a heat wave sweeps much of the United States, Myrtle Beach is actually expecting cooler fall weather from a cold front moving through the area.

But summery weather could hit the Grand Strand this autumn with unseasonably warm temperatures later in October.

“For the remainder of the week, we have a rather strong cold front coming down that’ll cross through here Thursday night, with considerably cooler [temperatures] and breezy northwest winds,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Adam Weiner. “[Temperatures] will be cooler, drier, below normal for a little bit, which will be like a taste of fall for the late week and into the weekend.”

This weekend, a coastal low expected to develop along the cold front off the southeast coast could bring wind, overcast skies, rough surf and rain to the Myrtle Beach area. The coastal low should lift early next week, bringing sunny, cool fall weather until later in the week, when temperatures could start shifting.

“Going beyond the early part of next week, we see this evolution of the jet stream lifting well north of the eastern half of the country, so that’s kind of flowing through the Rockies and into northern states, and thus we see a big area of high pressure south there, supporting the emergence of all this warm air that would be south of it into the country,” Weiner said.

That high-pressure pattern centered over the Southeast U.S. and Gulf Coast could bring above-normal temperatures starting around Oct. 15, potentially through the end of the month. As for a warmer Halloween holiday, Weiner says forecasts for the last week of the month remain more uncertain.

It’s too soon to predict what those above-normal temperatures could look like, but with normal temperature highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s, the area could see highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s, Weiner said.

“We’ll have to see how hot it ends up getting,” said Weiner. “Hopefully not hotter than that, for those who like the idea of fall actually holding for once, but summer comes and goes, even in the fall time.”