Afternoon roundup: Awaiting the return of heat

The stretch of pleasant, low humidity weather is officially over, and now we await the incoming heat this week. A changing atmospheric pattern will promote the advection of a warmer, more humid airmass into our area this week. As a ridge over the Central United States collapses northeastward, warmer air will be on the move toward our area. High temperatures in the 80s on Monday will rise toward the 90s on Tuesday — and remain in the mid to upper 90s on both Wednesday and Thursday. Showers and thunderstorms will also be a possibility each day, owing to the increased humidity and atmospheric instability. Here are some highlights from around the meteorology community:

  • Highs in the 80s today, but showers and storms will still be possible during the afternoon and evening hours. They will be isolated in coverage, but could be locally strong and slow-moving. This could mean flash-flooding and dangerous lightning. This threat will last until midnight.
  • A heat ridge builds in on Tuesday, which will end any threat of showers or thunderstorms. After morning temperatures in the low 70s, highs could hit 90 or the low 90s in some spots with mostly sunny skies and high humidity. Afternoon southerly winds could make areas along the coast a bit cooler.
  • Some record heat is possible on Wednesday, with many areas reaching the upper 90s, with low to mid 90s along the coast. Humidity will be a tad less than on Tuesday, but heat indexes could still approach 100 degrees.
  • After a very warm morning on Thursday with temperatures in the upper 70s, temperatures should once again soar into the 90s. But it will be a tad cooler than on Wednesday due to afternoon cloudcover and a chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms as a shortwave passes by to our north.
  • Friday and the weekend look sunny and not as humid, but it will still be warm — temperatures in the upper 80s to around 90.
  • A significant heat wave has been occurring in the Southern Plains, as high temperatures exceeding 100 degrees look to be common tomorrow.