If you’re a fan of the heat, consider yourself lucky, because it will remain hot through the duration of the work week–and it can become dangerous if you don’t take the proper precautions, like staying extra hydrated. For those of you who like it cooler, the weekend will be pretty much perfect. In terms of the Fourth of July, it will be quite nice overall but hot. There will be the slight chance for an afternoon storm, however, in the midst of the first full week (July 2-8) of the new month.
Monday, July 2: The new week will be off to a toasty start, although the heat should not be as intense as during the weekend. Nonetheless, it will be very hot and uncomfortable as temperatures remain up to 10 degrees above normal. On Monday, temperatures will top off into the mid 90s inland. Combine that with dew points in the low 70s and you’ve got yourself a heat index in excess of 100 degrees–hence the Heat Advisory in effect until Monday evening. Similar to this past weekend, there will be little in the way of clouds or rain, so there will be zero relief. In fact, it should be very hard to find a cloud in the sky on Monday.
Tuesday, July 3: On Tuesday, a secondary, upper-level ridge of high pressure will briefly build over the Northeast before drifting back to the Central US midweek. Geopotential heights will get up to around 598 decameters, which has never happened in recorded history before. A height of this magnitude at about 18,000 feet is significant, and guarantees extreme heat in the summertime. Geopotential height basically means that the thicker the layer between the surface and any layer of the atmosphere, the warmer the average temperature must be. There’s your weather 101! This significant ridge will keep high temperatures in the mid 90s for yet another day but heat indices into the low 100s thanks to those oppressive humidity levels. The only plus–it will be accompanied by mostly sunny skies.
Wednesday, July 4: By Wednesday’s Fourth of July, the 20-30% chance for rain arises in the afternoon. As that upper-level ridge drifts to the west, that will allow for a small opportunity for some convection to occur, especially to our weather. Therefore, a pop-up thunderstorm will be possible late in the day. If we were to deal with a storm, it will be brief and should dissipate just in time for fireworks. Otherwise, the day will be hazy, hot, and humid with partly cloudy skies, dew points in the mid-to-perhaps-upper-70s, which is downright oppressive, and a high temperature into the low 90s. I know the afternoon storm doesn’t sound nice, especially since it’s a holiday, but it would provide a brief respite from the heat.
Thursday, July 5: The chance for rain will then drop back down on Thursday, thanks to high pressure at the surface, which will allow for a mostly sunny day. The south-southwesterly wind will keep the high humidity still locked in, so Thursday definitely will be another summer scorcher as temperatures max out into the low 90s.
Friday, July 6: Finally, Friday will be the last day of this seemingly endless heat wave. High temperatures will top off near 90 degrees midday before a line of scattered thunderstorms moves through late-day, generally dumping less than half an inch of rainfall. The day overall will be partly cloudy and beautiful. This will be the last day to deal with the heat and humidity because relief is on the way this coming weekend.
Saturday, July 7: The weekend is looking absolutely stunning, and it will be perfect for those who prefer the seasonable weather. On Saturday, expect mostly sunny skies and a high temperature in the mid 80s. Along with the cooler temperatures will be the lower dew points. We’ll go from the sticky and uncomfortable mid 70s during the work week, down to the pleasant mid 50s on Saturday.
Sunday, July 8: The air will become still drier on Sunday. Even if the cold front (which will bring those evening storms on Friday) decides to slow down, the risk for rain will only affect Saturday, especially in the morning. Either way, Sunday likely will be very nice and dry thanks to a Canadian high pressure coming in from the north. Highs in the mid 80s will be paired with abundant sunshine.
Jackson Dill just graduated from Wilton High School. He started the website, Jackson’s Weather, and has been contributing a 7-day forecast for GOOD Morning Wilton since 2016.Visit Jackson’s Weather to find out any changes in the forecast. You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @JacksonsWeather for around-the-clock updates.