Summer weekends averaging 5 degrees above normal
More heat’s on the way. Temperatures and humidities will remain comfortable Saturday, thanks in part to easterly winds off Lake Michigan. But, with the ninth weekend of meteorological summer 2005 underway, the area is bracing for a new round of hot weather. A huge, rain-free dome of hot air continues to develop across the nation’s mid-section. Readings soared above 100° in parts of the Plains Friday, and this hot air is to begin building eastward.
Though daytime highs here won’t be as extreme as last Sunday’s 102°, surging humidities promise to make the five days of 90s predicted Sunday through Thursday rather uncomfortable: Gulf Coast-level dew points near 70° on the hottest of those days may send heat indexes near 100°.
Six of eight summer weekends this season have posted temperature surpluses, averaging nearly 5 degrees above normal. It’s likely this weekend will become the seventh to finish above normal.