Oppressive combination of heat and humidity this weekend
We have all experienced high temperatures before. In fact, most of us sat underneath a large ridge of high pressure earlier this summer which brought us temperatures in the upper 90’s. This weekend, however, temperatures will again surge into the upper 90’s — and combine with dew points in the middle to upper 70’s to bring Heat Index values near 110 F for periods of time each afternoon. This air, not surprisingly, will feel overly oppressive.
The culprit? The positioning of the aforementioned ridge in the mid levels of the atmosphere. Earlier in July, our area experienced a prolonged period of heat. But the ridge axis was centered in the Plains States. A clockwise flow around that ridge axis brought the heat into our area from the Northwest, meaning dew points were lower and the heat was of the “drier” variety. This time, the ridge is centered off the Southeast US Coast, with the clockwise flow around the high pressure bringing the heat into our area from the southwest.