"Temperatures are likely to spike during the first part of next week and could surge well into the 90s and may even approach 100 in parts of South Carolina and Georgia, where humidity levels stop well short of typical summertime levels," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Average high temperatures for late May range from the lower 80s in Nashville and Raleigh to the upper 80s around Montgomery. The anticipated forecast highs by early next week will be 5-15 degrees above these marks and more typical of average highs in July.
Where humidity levels are higher, it will likely feel several degrees higher than the actual temperature, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr.
In fact, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures could come close to or eclipse the century mark in parts of the Southeast.
In some locations, the warmup could be one for the record books.
Knoxville, Tennessee, is forecast to climb into the lower 90s next Monday, putting its daily record of 92 from 1904 in jeopardy. Nashville could near record highs set in 2019 on both Sunday and Monday. The records to beat are 91 and 93, respectively.
Should Columbia, South Carolina, close in on the triple digits on Monday as forecast, the city's daily record of 98 set in 1953 would be within reach.
Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia, are among the other locales that could have the weather history books rewritten during the heat wave.