Dangerous Heat Not That Far From the Stateline

You probably noticed a difference in the air Tuesday afternoon.  It felt a little warmer, a little more humid - didn't it?  Heat index values were in the low to mid 90's across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon.  And the abundance of moisture will help fuel a few thunderstorms later this evening and overnight.  Nothing severe is expected, but heavy rain producing showers will move in between 9pm and 10pm, a little sooner west of Rockford.

As mentioned in an earlier post - Excessive Heat Watches/Warnings and Heat Advisories have been issued for a good portion of the Midwest in anticipation of the high heat expected this week.  Heat index readings to the south and west could very well reach 110 degrees to 115 degrees!

Closer to home the humidity will be on the rise, but it won't get that hot.  The reason - anticipated showers and thunderstorms.  Heavy rain

producing thunderstorms moving over the Plains and Midwest will hold temperatures down a bit, but won't really ease up on the humidity.  Dew point temperatures will climb this week into the low to mid 70's, beginning as early as Wednesday afternoon.  This will push the heat index value into the mid 90's for most.  Thursday has the *potential* to be our hottest day, but thunderstorms moving through during the morning could hold temperatures down, but also bring heavy rainfall to parts of Iowa,

Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.  A similar pattern may unfold Thursday night into Friday afternoon.  Definitely a pattern we want to pay close attention to because areas that receive repeated amounts of rainfall could easily end up with several inches of rain when all said and done.  And if that occurs in locations that are still dealing with flooding from last week, we could have a major disaster unfold later this week.