Hot, Fiery Summer Off To A Blazing Start. More Record Highs, Then Cooler Times Ahead?

All those red dots on this map show where daily
record highs were tied or broken on Sunday. Quite
a few more high temperature records will fall day,
probably including here in Vermont 

If you thought Sunday was hot as blazes here in Vermont, you're not going to like today. It'll be just as toasty in Vermont today as it was yesterday. More records will fall.

This is part of a familiar pattern we've seen in recent years. Most summers in the past decade have been punctuated by bouts of record heat.   

The high temperature yesterday in Burlington was 95 degrees, a new record for the date, besting the old record by one degree.

That 95 degrees would have been the hottest for so early in the season in Burlington, had we not broken the record for heat for the entire month of May just last year when it got to 95 degrees on May 27, 2020.

 Elsewhere around the region, Montpelier reached 90 degrees, breaking the old record of 85 set in 1985.  Plattsburgh, New York got to 93, breaking the old record of 88 degrees.

Numerous other record highs were reported in the Northeast, the northern Great Lakes, the northeastern Plains, Ontario and Quebec. 

We haven't even reached the start of astronomical summer yet, and we've already had about half the normal number of 90 degree days for an entire year. We've had three so far. Today will be the fourth such day. There's a chance Tuesday could be number five.

Locally, record highs will be challenged again today.  The record high in Burlington today is 94 degree. Montpelier's record high is 89 degrees.

It's hard to say whether today will be even hotter than Sunday. If Burlington gets to 96 degrees, we would break that record for the hottest for so early in the season. 

Factors in favor of the 96 or better are the fact we're starting the day a bit warmer than Sunday, and the overall air mass over us is a it toastier than Sunday. If we get full sunshine like yesterday, temperatures that high are within reach.

A factor working against it getting that hot is it's slightly more humid today than on Sunday. It takes more of the sun's energy to heat the air if there's more water in it. Higher humidity feels worse than dry heat, but it's harder for actual temperatures to get extreme when it's humid.

By the way, part of the reason temperatures are breaking record highs, both now and during that hot spell just a few weeks ago in May, is the lack of rain we've been having. 

Wet ground emits more moisture into the air, making it harder to get super hot, for the reasons described above.  

Areas in orange are under heat advisories today. Even
in the mountains, where it's slightly cooler, it's still
hot enough today to avoid strenuous activities

For those looking for full relief from the heat will need to wait until Wednesday or Wednesday night. But, starting Wednesday night, we're in for a long period of temperatures near, or even slightly below normal.  By long period, I mean at least a week, possibly more. 

Before we get there, we need to get through a muggy night tonight and an oppressive day Tuesday. 

Tuesday won't be as hot as today, but still up there, in the 85-90 degree range. It will be "cooler" because it will be more humid.  And there will be more clouds around than today.  

We're also in for some hit and miss showers and thunderstorms, but other than local heavy downpours and lightning, the threat of severe storms is pretty low. 

It'll be another sticky night Tuesday night, but Wednesday will be a transition day as a Canadian cold front works its way south. It will still get into the low 80s at least, especially in southern Vermont.  But you'll notice a change in the air as we go through the day as humidity wanes. 

It looks like Thursday through at least Sunday and probably beyond will feature a series of comfortable days with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. You'll be able to give that air conditioner a rest at that point