Hot & Steamy Tuesday, Wednesday's Cold Front Brings Much Needed Relief

Tuesday's Heat:

Similar to Monday, you're going to want to keep the A/C unit on full blast as another day of grueling heat and humidity is on tap for today. With yesterday's slow-moving frontal boundary fizzling out over southern Wisconsin, winds overnight remained out of the west-southwest, resulting in a very mild start. Temperatures at our local airports this morning are starting out in the low 70s, with dew point values also near the 70° mark. In all seriousness, it feels like were waking up in Florida than in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Thankfully, we just have to get through one more day of this summer-like heat and humidity before a cold front Wednesday cools us down into the second half of the work week.

Although we'll see a little more cloud cover throughout the day, it shouldn't take much for temperatures to climb into the low 90s for the third straight day. Heat index values may briefly touch the upper 90s late this afternoon. So if you have to be outside for a prolonged period of time, make sure to drink plenty of water and take frequent breaks in the shade to keep you safe from the heat. While a stray thunderstorm or two cannot be entirely ruled out, much of today's action should once again remain to our north as another cold front sags southeastward into central Wisconsin. If any thunderstorm does develop here at home, no severe weather is expected.

Cooling Off: 

Wednesday looks to start in similar fashion, with overnight lows falling into the low 70s in most spots. However, we'll call Wednesday a "day of transition" as our next cold front is scheduled to slide through before mid-day. Along with this cold front will come a chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially during the afternoon hours. Again, the severe threat remains low. But given the amount of moisture in our atmosphere, heavy downpours are a given with any shower or thunderstorm. Once the front is fully through, our surface winds will change to the north and northeast by Wednesday night, allowing a much cooler and more comfortable air-mass to settle in. This will help drop our high temperatures down from the low 90s today down to the upper 70s by Thursday. Music to my ears!