THE HEAT BACKS OFF FOR NOW...

After a week of extreme heat, we finally felt some relief on Saturday. Temperatures stayed in the 80s and dew points stayed in the 60s! Far cry from the records that were being broken and triple digit heat index values. That's because the heat dome, the big blob of heat, the ridge, moved away:

We'll have a refreshing, comfortable start to the day Sunday as a result and temperatures will be near 80 in the afternoon:

Dew points stay nice and low as well:

For comparison, dew points were nearing 80 degrees this past Wednesday:

Now the humidity is going to remain pretty pleasant through the week.

Dew points Tuesday:

And Wednesday:

This will be as temperatures remain close to/slightly above normal. Here's the temperature trend for Cedar Rapids:

And for the Quad Cities:

You probably do notice that temperatures go back up by the end of the week into Labor Day weekend. That's because the big upper level high pressure system starts to move back in:

This time it will not be as strong as last week nor will it be centered over the region, but temperatures will still go above normal once again!

Rebecca Kopelman