Likely Worst Heat Wave Of Year In Vermont Even If Temperatures Aren't Highest

It's so hot this week I figure I'd treat you to a photo of a
heavy snowstorm in Burlington, Vermont 
from a few winters ago. 

 The hottest it's gotten so far this summer in Burlington, Vermont was a record 96 degrees way back on June 7.  

For those who don't like hot weather, the good news: It almost surely won't get that hot during this week's heat wave.  Now the bad news: This weeks 90 degree weather will feel probably feel hotter than that 96 degree day back in June. 

Back during the record heat in early June, the dew point, the best measure to figure out how humid it is out there, was only in the upper 50s to low 60s.  That's not very humid at all, really. 

A dew point like that, say on a day when the actual temperature is something like 80s degrees, makes for a very comfortable summer day.  Yes, it was uncomfortably hot in early June, but that was solely a function of high temperatures.

This week is different. It's wicked humid out there.  And it will stay that way through Friday, even as temperatures rise above the mid and upper 80s we've seen since Friday.

That dew point is now into the mid 60s, which is pretty humid. There's signs those dew point readings could go to the low 70s - maybe today, but more likely tomorrow and Thursday.   That'll drive the heat index - what the air actually feels like - to the mid 90s in parts of Vermont and surrounding areas today, and maybe near 100 degrees Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, actual temperatures will top out around 90 degrees for most of us, low 90s in the hot spots around Vermont.  That's really up there, but not as hot as it can get, and as mentioned, "cooler" than that early June spell of heat.

A heat advisory is up today for much of the Northeast, including the Champlain Valley and southwest and southeast corners of Vermont. Temperatures will feel like they're in the mid 90s even as actual temperatures barely crack 90 degrees.

There's no heat alerts for tomorrow - yet.  The National Weather Service in South Burlington will get us through today, they hoist new heat advisories or warnings Wednesday morning. The heat index tomorrow afternoon and evening should get to 100 degrees in spot. 

Thursday's looking just as bad, with a potential added twist. When it's this hot and humid, all you need is a trigger to set off some big thunderstorms, as I mentioned yesterday. 

There will be isolated thunderstorms today, and some overnight tonight as a disturbance skirts the Canadian border. Those might provide a few instances of torrential downpours. 

Wednesday looks almost storm free for most of the day.

A slightly stronger disturbance seems like it wants to approach us Thursday afternoon amid all this heat and humidity. That combination could well turn into a trigger for strong gusty thunderstorms.  It's so humid out there, that the rain will really come down incredibly hard with some of these, so expect a few instances of street flooding, driveway or back road washouts, that sort of thing. 

That's a couple days away, so it may or may not develop. Stay tuned. 

In any event, during this "worst of summer" heat wave, try to stay in the air conditioning. If you have to work outdoors or do strenuous activities outside, like I do today and tomorrow, take it easy. Like I will.

Drink plenty of water.  Take quite a few breaks. Get your butt into a cool place during rests to avoid heat exhaustion or gawd forbid heat stroke. Do you have elderly relatives or friends living in a house without air conditioning? Check on them, or better yet, grab 'em and take them out to someplace cool.  Even if it's for a random sight seeing drive in an air conditioned car.