The heat and humidity will continue to increase throughout the day.
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The District’s heat emergency plan will go into effect at 1 p.m. Wednesday, and a code orange has been issued for air quality. At this point, we think the precipitation Thursday afternoon will be scattered in nature and not everyone will get beneficial rain. Thermometers will peak in the lower to mid 90s.
July is typically the hottest month of the year in North Carolina, and we will definitely feel that July heat for the next several days.
Starting today the area will receive a surge of heat and humidity. Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water. And please follow the same safety rules for your pets.
I often say that the big problem from heat waves does not come from daytime heat, but rather from not cooling down at night. Meanwhile temperatures will start off in upper 70s during the morning and climb to the low 90s by the afternoon hours. The warm and muggy air holds on through Friday. The heat index, or feels like temperature, will reach 100 or higher every afternoon through the end of the week. The 1995 Chicago heat wave alone led to 739 heat-related deaths in five days.
There will be a chance for a thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon. While there will be plentiful instability (energy) in the atmosphere, there won’t be a spark to initiative those storms. We could even still see a few isolated severe storms across the area.
Friday: A cold front will move through the region and may trigger more showers and storms. Where it rains on Friday, temperatures should stay at least a little cooler.
Thursday: The threat for rain, humidity and storms return.
The humidity will remain high today and fall a bit late this week; one of the reasons for the possibility of heavier downpours is because of the elevated moisture levels.
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Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey.
