Well, this time of year isn’t called the “dog days” of summer for nothing! After a brief respite from humid weather over the past few days, some of the most humid air of the season will be coming our way for the second half of the week, even lasting into early next week as well. Of course, along with hot and humid air comes the threat of heavy, potentially flooding rain and thunderstorms. Let’s talk about what we do know and what is still a bit uncertain for the next five to seven days.
Humid air that was trapped south of the mid-Atlantic States will make its way into our neck of the woods starting today and stick around through the weekend as shown by the dew point progression map below. Dew points above 70°F are typically associated with a feeling of “oppressive” humidity. In some places, dew points could even reach 75°F this weekend which is a rarity in the Northeast and more common for places like Florida.
The humidity will combine with above average temperatures creating even higher heat indices meaning it will feel even hotter than what the thermometer reads. Temperatures will reach into the low to mid 90s in many locales Friday thru Sunday with heat indices potentially soaring into the 100s thanks to the high humidity. It will certainly be a time period to take it easy and ensure you and others are drinking lots of water, especially if working outside!
Such hot and humid weather in place usually leads to a threat of showers and thunderstorms and that’s exactly what we are watching for the second half of the week and even more so into early next week. Essentially each day thru at least Monday will have some chance for precipitation as a slow-moving boundary well to the north and west (think along the line between Kentucky through Pennsylvania and New York) gradually slides eastward towards the coast. This will provide a focus for rain and t-storms – which will be heavy and potentially flooding in spots thanks to the abundant moisture in the region. However, there is still some uncertainty how fast and how far east this boundary progresses into our region this weekend and into early next week so keep an eye out for updates as we head through the weekend.
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