Just When You Thought Summer Was Over!

<p>Summer is not over yet, but at least some relief is in sight.</p>

Friday, August 22nd 2014, 8:10 pm

By: News On 6


Just when it looked like we may avoid any more triple digits for the summer, this recent heat wave has eliminated that possibility. For only the 4th time this year, Tulsa officially made triple digits today as well as several other locations on this side of the state. Notice the max/min temperature map on the right for the day, courtesy of the OK Mesonet. Notice also the second map on the right which tells the real story and that is the heat index which reached dangerous levels this afternoon. Anytime the heat index is at or above 105, that can create some dangerous health issues.

Unfortunately, temperatures will change little as the heat will persist right on through the weekend and into early next week. We may avoid triple digits on some days, but it will be close. Of greater concern though is the combination of heat and humidity. The numerical guidance suggests the dew point temperature should drop back into the low-mid 60s instead of holding in the low 70s as was the case today. If so, that will keep the heat index below the dangerous threshold, but it may be close. At any rate, suggest taking it easy with the outdoor activities as we have not had to deal with this kind of weather very much this summer and most of us are not accustomed to it.

Not only will our days be hot, but our nights will be quite warm with morning lows only dropping into the mid-upper 70s for most locations. Skies will be generally fair overnight and mostly sunny during the day with the only possibility of a cooling shower or storm pretty well confined to the far western counties of our state, if even there.

At least we will have a decent breeze to provide some ventilation with southerly winds of 10-18 mph and a little gusty at times during the day and near 10 mph during the overnight hours.

There is some relief on the horizon with a weak frontal boundary likely to be moving into the state late Wednesday or more likely into the day Thursday. This will bring more cloud cover, at least a chance of some badly needed rainfall, and temperatures back to near or perhaps even below normal instead of running 6-8 degrees above normal as we are now.

Unfortunately, that relief is expected to be short lived as the last two maps on the right show the outlook for the following week. Notice we will be back into above normal temperatures although there may be at least a few showers/storms during that time frame as well. Obviously, summer is not over just yet.

So, stay cool, stay tuned, and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot

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