Afternoon Highs in the 90's... Humid Air Arriving Tomorrow

Currently temperatures at 10 p.m. are ranging from the upper 70's in Northeast Indiana to the lower 80's in Northwest Ohio.  In Antwerp, the temperature has fallen to 82, after an afternoon high of at least 93 degrees in most areas.  Dew points today have been very low, ranging mostly in the upper 40's and lower 50's, allowing for a hot, but comfortably humid set up.  Overnight lows will fall into the lower to middle 60's, under mostly clear skies.  Even though temperatures will fall rapidly, dew points will actually rise tonight, into the lower and middle 60's by early Sunday morning, allowing the possibility of fog to come into the forecast.  Temperatures will then rapidly rise into the lower to middle 90's, with dew points rising into the upper 60's, in the vicinity of an approaching warm front.  The moderately high dew point values will cause heat index temperatures in the middle to upper 90's.  The same warm front will approach during the overnight hours, bringing the possibility of showers and thunderstorms late Sunday Night, with the greatest threat and coverage over Northwest Indiana and Illinois.  Monday, even hotter temperatures in the middle 90's, along with dew point temperatures in the mid 70's, will cause heat indices to rise into the range of 102 to 105, which meets Heat Advisory Criteria.  According to the National Weather Service, they are not sure at this time whether to issue a heat advisory, mainly because of the possibility of thunderstorms that could really limit daytime heating in some areas, especially in Northwest Indiana and Illinois.  Maximum heating will take place in extreme eastern Indiana and Northwest Ohio due to clear skies and dry soil conditions.  Hopefully thunderstorms form on Monday Afternoon, which could cause rainfall amounts of over two inches in scattered areas (hopefully in the Fort Wayne area, because we need it really bad!!)  For the rest of the week, temperatures will remain around 92 on Tuesday after a cold front moves through, but the humidity will definitely drop.  Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures will rise into the upper 80's, before another heat wave begins to hit our area on Friday.  According to the Climate Prediction Center and Accuweather, this same heat wave will likely last through the next week in many areas, before the ridge begins to retrograde westward.

Very Warm Temperatures this Morning...

Currently temperatures across Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana are ranging from the upper 70's to the lower 80's as of 10 a.m.  At Antwerp, temperatures are currently at 81 degrees while Fort Wayne they are at 80 degrees.  Other cities temperatures include:

Angola, IN: 79 degrees
Auburn, IN: 79 degrees
Defiance, OH: 79 degrees
Napoleon, OH: 81 degrees
Toledo, OH: 85 degrees
Sandusky, OH: 76 degrees
Paulding, OH: 79 degrees

By four this afternoon, temperatures in most of the area should be in the lower 90's, with the exception of Toledo and adjacent towns, who should be in the middle 90's this afternoon.  Tonight, temperatures will drop into the middle and upper 60's, much warmer than last night.  By  tomorrow, temperatures should rise to the lower to middle 90's and with much higher humidity, we will have heat indices in the upper 90's.  Some areas tomorrow, such as Toledo and adjacent areas, will see highs in the upper 90's.  Monday, will bring back the chance for showers and thunderstorms to the area, but convection will have more of an isolated nature.  Any storms that do form will have the potential to produce heavy rain and maybe gusty winds.  According to Accuweather and the Climate Prediction Center, an intense heat wave may be on the horizon for the Central and Eastern United States, due to higher than normal heights in the 500 hpa layer of the atmosphere.  Our area could even approach one hundred degrees by next Sunday.  Stay tuned for later updates.

Anniversary of Heat Wave of 1936; Somewhat Wetter this Week, But Still Hot

Yesterday and Today, (depending on what city you were in) marks the beginning of the infamous July 1936 North American Heat Wave, which caused extreme drought over a good chunk of North America.  Record high average temperatures were set in many states, along with record daily highs every day of the heat wave in many cities across the Midwest.  At Fort Wayne International Airport, daily record highs were recorded every day from the 8th of July to the 14th.  These temperatures were: 104 on the 8th; 102 on the 9th; 102 on the 10th; 98 on the 11th; 103 on the 12th; 104 on the 13th; and the hottest temperature of 106 (also Fort Wayne's all-time hottest temperature on record) occurred on the 14th.  These temperatures coincided with an extreme drought at Fort Wayne (the next drought of the proportions of 1936 was in 1988). 
      Now as for the weather patterns for the next several weeks, the pattern, according to the Climate Prediction Center, will feature a strong longwave trough in the West, which will continue to cause a strong ridge to form over the Central and Eastern United States.  This strong ridge will aid the hot temperatures around, more than likely to cause our temperatures to hover near the lower 90's for most of the summer, which is much warmer than normal.  This longwave ridge pattern could even several intense heat waves to form from now through the beginning of August.  This week, though, three or four days starting today and lasting through Tuesday, will be in the 90's, which qualifies as a heat wave in the definition of a heat wave as given by the National Weather Service in Northern Indiana.  On Monday and Tuesday, thunderstorms are a possibility as more humid air arrives in the region, causing high heat indices.   The thunderstorms will be mainly isolated to scattered and will be more of a pulse storm nature instead of in organized bands, much like the same pattern of the last month.  By Friday, thunderstorms could bring heavy rainfall again but to isolated, because again they will be more of a pulse storm nature.  I really don't see any organized thunderstorm formation unless the ridge that is over the Eastern United States, breaks down and allows several shortwave impulses to impact the area with organized severe thunderstorm events.  Other than that, if the ridge does not break down, then expect warm to hot temperatures over the next several weeks.

Very Warm for July

All of this week, temperatures have been warm to hot, as temperatures have hovered around the lower 90's all week long.  This pattern will continue as an upper level ridge builds into the region tomorrow into Sunday.  Saturday and Sunday will both be in the lower 90's, not only hot temperatures but higher humidity as well.  By Monday, thunderstorms will be back in the forecast, with even more humid and hotter conditions, with temperatures in the middle 90's.  Also the possibility of strong thunderstorms comes into play Monday through Friday next week, with heavy rain being the primary threat, which is good news for our parched ground.  According the National Weather Service, a much wetter pattern will come into play over the next week, with hopefully several inches coming for the Fort Wayne area.  All of next week temperatures will range from the middle 80's to the lower 90's.  Tomorrow, I will have a longer blog post about the rest of the summer and the upcoming pattern.

Warm Temperatures once again this afternoon... Last blog post until Friday evening

After an extremely hot, humid day yesterday, a cold front moved through last night bringing with it showers and thunderstorms, with most of the activity to the south and west of Fort Wayne.  Today, temperatures have risen quite a bit into the upper 80's as of 1 p.m. across most of the area.  Over the next week or so, temperatures will stay steady in the mid to upper 80's, with the possibility of another heat wave coming by week's end.  This is also the last blog post until Friday early evening, when I will get back from summer camp.  Well, for now, see you then.