7:05A-WED: EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCHES HOISTED FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ACROSS THE PIONEER VALLEY, CMASS AND N.CT… HEAT ADVISORIES UP FOR THE ENTIRE REGION TODAY… AIR QUALITY CONCERNS TODAY THROUGH THE WEEK… POSSIBLE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING NORTH OF THE PIKE INTO SVT/SWNH… MORE AFTERNOON SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, WITH A SHOWERY SATURDAY AS A COLD FRONT COMES IN AND SWEEPS THE HEAT AND OPPRESSIVE HUMIDITY SEAWARD… SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY LOOKS EXCEPTIONAL… LET’S GET THROUGH THIS…
Good morning everybody, we’re facing a 3-4 day heat wave that begins today. You’ll need to stay hydrated, where light-colored loose-fitting clothing if you can, and stay cool. If you have respiratory conditions or other maladies that the high heat, humidity, and poor quality exacerbates, stay inside in air conditioned spaces, if you can, or at least out of the direct sun.
I’ve got a word from our sponsor directly below, and will continue with today’s report below that.
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What can I say, we have a 3-4 day heat wave coming that will feature very high humidity (dewpoints as high as the mid to upper 70s!), high air temperatures (upper 80s to mid 90s today, low to mid 90s with a few upper 90s Thursday, and low to mid 90s Friday) and haze from western wildfire smoke.
This will push heat indices into the mid 90s to low 100s today, the low to upper 100s Thursday, and low to mid 100s Friday (mid 100s means 105 not 150, and upper 100s means 108 not 180, fyi).
After morning clouds we’ll have partly to mostly sunny skies each day.
For today, we have a few showers coming off of old activity that fired last night, and this will pass east through northern CT, and maybe graze south-central/southeast Hampden County into southernmost Worcester County through 8pm or so.
Then we brighten the skies, and wait for another disturbance this afternoon, that will help produce some lift to trigger scattered showers and thunderstorms, some of which will be strong and produce torrential rainfall.
Wind shear is lacking, so a wind threat isn’t high, but we can’t rule out some gusty winds in these cells.
They move through anywhere between 4-10pm, and should mostly stay north of the Pike in MA, VT and NH, but can’t rule out a few south of that line too.
Lows tonight and tomorrow night will be in the low to mid 70s, and then upper 60s to low 70s Friday night.
Thursday is the heat of the week, the core of this heat dome as high pressure in the western Atlantic circulates heat and humidity and pumps into WMass on southwesterly flow.
We may also see a better chance for strong to severe thunderstorms tomorrow as wind shear will be stronger into the region, so stay tuned for updates on that.
Friday night into Saturday features a strong cold front that will knock this heat wave out to sea, though Saturday should be very warm too, with highs in the 80s to 90º, with showers expected, especially into the early afternoon.
Saturday night is our first taste of the new, refreshing air mass, and Sunday through Tuesday looks DIVINE.
Low humidity, dry, calm, highs in the 70s to low 80s.
So, there’s lots to look forward to, but first, we have to get through the next 4 days.
Stay tuned to the page, as I will keep you updated, and if you would like to support my work here while helping me celebrate my first full decade of serving this community, please click the secure link below to see my limited edition, specially-designed tees, tanks, long sleeves and hoodies on my Bonfire store. Sale ends August 22. Thanks!