We're Havin' a Heat Wave!

Temperatures topped out at 93 degrees at the Greater Rockford Airport on Saturday afternoon.  That represented the 16th time this year that the temperature has reached 90 degrees or higher.  The next 7 days look like they will all be above 90 reaching the middle 90's several days.  Higher humidity will build back into the area along with the high temperatures with dew points reaching 70 degrees or a little higher starting on Sunday.  The heat index on Sunday afternoon will be 95 to 100, and may reach 105 or higher a few times next week.  This will be a bonified heat wave eventually taking a toll on most people.  Here are some suggestions on easing the effects of the excessive prolonged heat... 1.  Drink plenty of cool water... 2. Wear light colored clothing.  3. Limit the amount of time ouitside, and get into air conditioned areas for relief.  4.  Avoid vigorous exercise in the heat as muich as possible.
Weak high pressure is moving across northern Wisconsin early tonight, and will move over to northern lower Michigan and fade out as a weak front attemps to lift toward the Stateline from the southwest.  It will start out mostly clear overnight, but will become partly cloudy toward daybreak.  It will be a little on the warm side overnight with lows in the middle to upper 60's.  The front will dissolve into a trough of low pressure stretching from extreme northwest Illinois across northeastern Iowa to a weak low near Mason City by the noon hour on Sunday.  An area of thunderstorms is expected to develop over northeastern Iowa just north of the trough that will move toward the east/southeast.  So it will be partly sunny, hot, and more humid on Sunday with a chance of thunderstorms in our area.  There is a slight chance that some thunderstorms may develop to severe limits with damaging winds and large hail.  The chances of thuderstorms will diminish to about 20% by evening as the disturbance moves off to the southeast.  It will be hot and humid with isolated thundrstorms on Monday.  Monday night will be warm and muggy under partly cloudy skies.  It will be mostly sunny on Tuesday, but there could be some isolated thunderstorms on Tuesday night.  It will be partly cloudy, hot, and humid on the 4th of July, and the night looks dry.