Longest June heat wave in 25 years underway

Temperatures topped out above 90 degrees for the second consecutive day on Monday and we have at least another six days of before some potential relief early next week with a cold front.

While readings were similar to Sunday, it felt worse because the humidity was higher, pushing the heat index to 100+ in spots.

Some scattered storms have provided relief along with some late afternoon clouds but most have remained dry. A few more scattered showers and storms are possible well into the overnight given the high humidity. It will remain muggy with temperatures only falling to around 70 degrees.

Tuesday looks just as hot as Monday with readings pushing to the mid 90s. Dewpoints around 70 will mean a heat index of 98 to 102 degrees in the afternoon. Limit your work outdoors to early and late-day if you can and if possible, wait until Wednesday when the heat may relax just a little.

More scattered storms will pop up late in the afternoon and evening Tuesday, and a mini-boundary will actually push through from south to north Tuesday night.

Winds will turn into the southeast into Wednesday and while this won't cool us down, it will bring in drier air to the region, especially east of the Ohio River. That means dewpoints may ease back into the 60s Wednesday afternoon with the possibility of the heat index peaking in the 90s.

While conditions will still be toasty later this week, temperatures will be better than Monday and Tuesday.

Hot, dry weather will be the rule Thursday and Friday with temperatures reaching the mid 90s. The humidity may remain lower, meaning it will be a relatively dry heat.

Still, air temperatures of 94 to 96 degrees will be plenty hot in the afternoon but the lower humidity should mean temperatures back off fairly quickly after the sun sets and nights won't be as oppressive.

Saturday could be the hottest day of this stretch and our best chance to challenge the record of 98 in Charleston and Huntington.

A cold front will then approach Sunday into Monday with storm chances increasing. The timing on the front is a bit tricky with some models faster and others a bit slower. We should see some better rain opportunities during that period and at least somewhat of a break from the 90s.

The eight-day string of 90-degree temperatures will be our longest since 2020 and the longest heat wave in June since back in 1999.

Ironically, though, none of these days may end up as hot as last July 27, when 90-degree temperatures combined with dewpoints in the mid-to-upper 70s to create 100-to-110 heat indices in our region. Nighttime lows were close to 80 in that late July period.