After the downright disrespectfully and, at times dangerous, heat that we have had lately, relief is on the way! We just have one more day to go. Expect highs back into the low to mid 90s again for your Thursday with partly sunny skies. The advertised cool front will be approaching from the northwest though, and this will make scattered showers and thunderstorms more numerous during the afternoon to early evening. A few of those storms could contain gusty winds, but we’re not expecting big severe weather problems. Heat index values by the afternoon will once again be in the general 103 to 108 range, but this is the last day for the next little while for us to have triple digit heat index values! Just as you have done the past several days, be sure to stay hydrated and take breaks as often as possible if you have to be outdoors in the mess.
Rain and storm chances will continue to be elevated through Friday and the weekend as the upper-level heat ridge breaks down and shifts into the eastern U.S. and we get easterly flow on the back side of the cool front and a low pressure area that develops off the South Carolina coast. All of this together will mean cooler temperatures, with highs into the mid to upper 80s as early as Friday and into the lower half of the 80s by Sunday and Monday. The easterly low-level flow will promote a wedge of cooler air moving in from Georgia and the Carolinas, especially on Sunday, and some parts of north Alabama and southern Tennessee that are east of I-65 may struggle to get out of the upper 70s for daytime highs! We will also take a break from the 75+ dewpoints, and this will allow overnight lows to fall back into the 60s for several nights from the weekend into early next week.
