It’s going to be the hottest day of the summer so far, but will it turn into a heat wave?
The humidity will last longer than the 90-degree heat.
We made it through the entire month of June without any widespread 90-degree weather. Logan Airport, Providence, and Worcester all missed reaching 90 degrees even once, so certainly there weren’t any heat waves.
An official heat wave is defined in this part of the country as three days or more when the actual temperature reaches 90 degrees; it’s not how it feels outside with the humidity, rather the actual air temperature.
High temperatures for Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday is going to be the hottest day so far this summer. I expect Boston to reach around 90 degrees or even a little higher and inland areas will likely push into the mid-90s. If this was going to become a heat wave, this would be day one. Some areas in southwestern New England and even interior Massachusetts might see a minimal three-day heat wave reaching 90 or better Thursday and Friday, but not in Boston or the immediate suburbs, this time.
The morning hi-resolution model insists Logan Airport won’t actually reach 90 this afternoon as a weak sea breeze kicks in there. It will be fun to see how well this model performs for us weather geeks.
Logan Airport Temperature Prediction, Note 90 Isn’t Forecast To Be Reached By This Model.
The humidity will also be high so it will feel warmer than the actual air temperatures by a few degrees. There is no chance of any rain, and although Nantucket and parts of Cape Cod and the other islands received a lot of rain Tuesday, we are still smack in the middle of a drought across much of the region.
Dirty air along the coastline
Air quality is forecast to be in the poor range Wednesday. This happens several times each year, mostly in the summer, but can happen anytime. If you are healthy, you likely won’t notice anything more than the hazy air, but if you have any respiratory issues, it can be harder to breath during these days, so keep outdoor activity to a minimum if possible.
Finally more showers
The pattern does change a bit starting Thursday and lasting into the first part of the weekend. What’s happening atmospherically are some pieces of energy moving within the jet stream will help to kick off some showers and storms Thursday, Friday, and again on Saturday.
When you read about these showers in the forecast, it’s always important to remember we aren’t talking about a rainy day. There will be dry periods, sunshine, and some of you might go an entire day without any rainfall.
The humidity will remain high during this period. One of the reasons for the possibility of heavier downpours is because of the elevated moisture levels. If you don’t like the humidity, it will lower by Sunday and that day is presently my pick for the upcoming weekend. Temperatures will also remain at seasonable levels.
Still no extended period of heat
It’s interesting to me we haven’t gotten into a prolonged pattern of heat and humidity just yet. A couple of months ago many forecasts called for a very hot summer here in the Northeast. There’s still plenty of time left for lots of heat, but for at least the first third of meteorological summer, it hasn’t been bad.
I’ll update the forecast here and on Twitter @growingwisdom.
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