Tough heat wave to develop across Maryland, storm chances increase

CBS News

3 days ago

Our next heat wave of summer should begin today across much of Maryland. This will be the first 90-degree day of many through the middle of next week. The toughest stretch of this heat and humidity will come Friday through Tuesday with Friday and Tuesday obtaining the highest feels like temperatures.
A major pattern change toward cooler and more comfortable weather will take place the second half of next week. So hang in there during this brutal heat wave, there is major relief that will be arriving by this time next week.
Today's high temperatures will reach the lower 90s with heat index values topping out in the middle 90s. Humidity levels will continue to climb this afternoon into this evening. Despite the heat and humidity, the good news there won't be any thunderstorms to disrupt outdoor work or activities.
Overnight lows tonight will not be as refreshing with temperatures only dipping down into the middle 70s.
The WJZ First Alert Weather Team has issued First Alert Weather Days Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the one-two punch of intense heat and possible afternoon and evening severe storms.
Friday will be one of the toughest days of this upcoming heat wave. High temperatures are forecast to reach the upper 90s to near 100°. Tropical levels of humidity will make the heat feel even worse and possibly dangerous. Feels like temperatures will easily surpass 100° with some isolated locations reaching nearly 110°.
The weekend will feature more brutal heat and tropical humidity. While weekend temperatures may not be as high as Friday with additional clouds and thunderstorms, the combination of higher humidity will offset temperatures being slightly cooler in the lower to middle 90s.
This heat wave will continue right into the middle of next week with another round of dangerous heat likely Tuesday as highs climb into the middle to upper 90s with feels like temperatures reaching 105° or higher. The WJZ First Alert Weather Team has tagged Tuesday as a possible First Alert Weather Day for this brief round of potentially dangerous heat.
Next Wednesday will be another hot and steamy day, but scattered strong thunderstorms that arrive later in the day should officially break this heat wave.
Strong to severe thunderstorms will begin to form in this incredibly hot and muggy airmass starting Friday afternoon. The coverage of strong to severe storms will grow each day through Sunday. The storm threat should briefly end by Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Friday afternoon and evening storm coverage should be isolated. More places than not will stay dry, but the best chance for a few powerful storms will be across northern and northeastern Maryland. The timeline would be after 3 p.m. through 11 p.m. Any storm could have intense cloud to ground lightning, blinding downpours, and pockets of damaging winds.
As a weak boundary stalls across the area this weekend, additional thunderstorms will develop Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening. During the weekend, the entire state is game for the possibility of strong to severe storms. Storms will produce copious amounts of clouds to ground lightning along with torrential downpours given the high tropical humidity levels and intense heat. Storm coverage on Saturday will be isolated to widely scattered. Numerous afternoon and evening strong thunderstorms are possible Sunday afternoon and evening.
The jet stream position will favor a major pattern change for our area starting Thursday of next week and continuing through next weekend. The large and expansive heat dome will be pushed to our south and southwest allowing cooler air from Canada to put an end to the heat and humidity for at least several days.
While it will be cooler late next week into next weekend, disturbances will spark off scattered showers and storms from time to time. Luckily none of the days look like washouts.