HOT, HOT, HOT!
I spent the last week in the south. Down in Mississippi I had a week as I'm getting closer to finishing graduate school. I'm getting a Master's in Geosciences with a concentration in Applied Meteorology from Mississippi State University.
It was hot and humid down there (as it typically is).. and it has felt no different in the Midwest since I returned on Saturday. So if you've ever wondered what it's like to live in the south... it pretty much feels like this weekend's heat and humidity every day!
Sunday was another toasty day and here's the numbers to prove it --
If the temperatures weren't bad enough... the dew points were through the roof. 60 degree dew points are sticky... 70s are gross.
That combination lead to heat index values near and above 100 degrees. That is why Heat Advisories and Excessive Heat Warnings have been posted across the Midwest.
I did want to to point out the spots of purple in the yellow. Those are Excessive Heat Warnings. Here's a closer look at my local area.
These warnings have been posted for Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, the Quad Cities and St. Louis The one thing in common is that these are metro areas. It tends to be hotter in cities due to the effects of urban heat island. Here's a graphic from skepticalscience.com to show the effect -
Because there are more buildings around versus vegetation, cities tend to be hotter than rural areas. And the heat continues as we start the week.
And dew points back in the 60s and 70s...
This will once again lead to heat indices in near and in the triple digits. But there will be some periods of relief with showers and thunderstorms. A front will be stalled out over the Midwest and will be the focus of storms through the week.
There will be some differences in the placement of the rain through the week, depending on the placement of the boundary. But here's an animation of the GFS through Friday.
There may be some strong storms at times and heavy rain. We will have to break down the placement day by day. In the meantime stay cool!
RK
P.S. I wanted to give a Father's Day shout out to all of the dads out there, including my dad Allen! And a happy dad day to TSwails himself for being my Iowa dad! I hope everyone enjoyed the day!
