BEAT THE HEAT...

DID YOU KNOW?

You probably didn't notice, but we had a lot of mornings in August that started off with a heavy due. My climate guru, Steve Gottschalk, keeps track of such things. (Why)? Because that's what he does. Anyway, he registered 22 days with heavy dew, which is the second most he has recorded. It gets more interesting in the sense that of the 6 years he's had 20 or more, five of the following winters were warmer. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. You won't find information like that on any other weather site. Thank you, Steve.

WELCOME BACK SUMMER

Growing heat has been the topic of discussion all week, and now it's game day. The upper level ridge that provides the warmth is now in a position to do its thing into the middle of next week. One little caveat that's popped up is the possibility of some remnant clouds or showers holding temperatures down a bit in the northeast. Warm advection on the northern edge of the ridge will be responsible for a thermal boundary that shows up nicely on the EURO's projected high temperatures Saturday. Readings go from the mid 90s in the Quad Cities to the mid 70s in EC Wisconsin.

The GFS indicates a similar sharp gradient but as I've been saying for several days has mixing issues and is far too warm with its highs in southeast Iowa over 100. That said, you can still see the edge of the heat is going to be very close to bisecting my northeast counties.

This is the rainfall the EURO shows overnight and early Saturday that could halt the advancement of the heat and keep the northeast several degrees cooler both Saturday and Sunday. Nothing of consequence in my area.

We'll have to watch how far south overnight clouds and showers can penetrate Saturday, but it still seems 90s are likely in most of the area aside from some upper 80s in the far northeast, close to what the EURO depicts. A similar temperature situation exists Sunday with the ridge axis nearly stationary.

PLAN A VISIT TO MY 5 STAR GALENA AIRBNB

My 5-STAR AIRBNB just outside of Galena still has some fall openings. All of our ratings are 5 star! We take pride in the amenities and the cleanliness. If you book now, we'll take off $200, and we can eliminate AIRBNB fees and additional costs that will save you big bucks. Other discounts apply. Call or text Carolyn at 563-676-3320 for our best deal of summer. See more at https://www.littlewhitechurchgalena.com/

WHEN DOES IT END?...

Another recent change is the fact the EURO has trended higher with moisture, especially in the north, pushing dew points into the upper 60s to perhaps 70 degrees. Humidity will be more of a factor, but heat index values should still remain in the 90s, a few degrees warmer than the actual highs.

According to the EURO, highs should remain in the range of 86 to 91 into Thursday of next week. It has this for the Quad Cities the next 6 days.

With the warmth and increase in moisture, it's possible that there will be enough instability for some widely scattered afternoon or evening showers and storms. However, coverage looks localized, and most areas may end up dry.

Just to the west, the storm track will reside over the western half of Iowa, where there is more in the way of convergence ahead of a slow moving trough. Some good rains look likely out that way. However, the ridge remains locked in over the Great Lakes and holds most of the precipitation at bay until the trough ejects east later Thursday. The EURO shows this for total precipitation through Wednesday. It does not include anything that might fall in the northeast overnight.

Once the trough and its cold front passes Thursday, cooler, more seasonal weather returns for late next week and the following weekend with highs back in the range of 70-75. Meantime, welcome summer back, and have a terrific weekend. Roll weather....TS