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The region is warming it’s way to temperatures approaching 80 by the end of the weekend, bringing a miniature repeat of the premature heat wave from last month.

A strong ridge of high pressure will turn winds around, bringing warmer southerly breezes and more moisture to Greater New York by Saturday. Cloudy skies will likely be the biggest outcome (besides the warm temperatures), but a shower is possible. The heat wave will peak on Monday, with highs in mid-80s a distinct possibility.

The weekend rain chance will be a welcome sight for Long Island and Connecticut, where on Thursday the drought condition was upgraded to severe — the third highest level on the U.S. Drought Monitor’s five-tier scale. New York City’s year-to-date precipitation is currently seven inches behind normal, so a little precipitation wouldn’t hurt the city either.

A Titanic Anniversary: One hundred years ago Sunday morning, the RMS Titanic hit the most famous iceberg in history while en route to New York City. You can read the Journal’s coverage from April 17, 1912, if you feel like an authentic look back. But for an alternative perspective, consider how slightly different weather on that fateful night could have altered history, saving more survivors from the icy water or even enabling the lookout to better spot the ice.

After the Titanic passed through a strong cold front a day earlier, strong north winds dropped temperatures to near-freezing. These temperatures were unusually cold for this time of year, and may have contributed to hypothermia of the survivors. Had the cold front delayed by a day, temperatures would have been warmer, and waves may have made the iceberg more visible.

By the time the iceberg collision occurred, the winds had calmed and Titanic was moving beneath clear skies and calm high pressure. With no moon that night and calm seas, iceberg detection was much more difficult.

In the intervening century, iceberg detection has radically improved – partly as a result of the Titanic disaster itself. Satellites now track threatening icebergs in near-realtime. An iceberg tour company even has a live tracking map near the area where the Titanic sank.

With the advent of climate change, there are likely more icebergs riding the seas today than there were 100 years ago. As ocean waters warm, heated currents flow underneath ice shelfs that surround glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica — the two biggest sources of icebergs. The warmer water acts as a lubricant, making iceberg calving more likely. Late last year, off the coast of Antarctica, a giant iceberg the size of New York City was formed.

New York City’s resident super-scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson (a must-follow on Twitter for science-types) succeeded in challenging James Cameron (no science slouch himself) to produce a more astronomically correct night sky during the sinking scene of the famous 1997 film for its recent re-release. Tyson was apparently appalled that, although basically meteorologically accurate (check out the 100-year-old weather map for that night!), the stars that were displayed in the original film were not the stars Jack and Rose would have seen.

The resulting exchange between Tyson and Cameron is hilarious, and accurately portrays both individuals’ eager attention to detail.

Your Weather Journal weekend forecast roundup:

  • WSJ Headquarters in Manhattan:
  • High: Friday: 66, Saturday: 67, Sunday: 77
  • Low: Friday: 49, Saturday: 52, Sunday: 60
  • Weather: Mini heatwave arrives by Sunday

Friday/Saturday/Sunday Highs for Greater New York:

  • Brooklyn: 65/70/76
  • Queens: 65/70/75
  • Bronx: 65/70/75
  • Staten Island: 65/71/76
  • Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: 66/70/77
  • Trenton, N.J.: 65/73/79
  • Islip, Long Island: 62/66/71
  • New Haven, Conn.: 63/68/73
