Tuesday Vermont Heat Update: It Gets Worse

A hot, hazy view of Lake Champlain in Burlington,
Vermont on Monday.

To my mild surprise, it made it to 90 degrees in Burlington, Vermont on Monday, making a late addition to this year's tally of 90 degree days in the Champlain Valley. 

That brings us to seven such days this year, and it looks like we'll add a couple more before fall arrives.

This hot spell is arguably turning into the most uncomfortable one of the year, too, though an early July heat wave was pretty much as bad as this one. 

In this case, the humidity is high, there aren't any cooling breezes to speak of, and the heat is grinding on for several days. As the National Weather Service in South Burlington wrote in its forecast discussion yesterday:

"Remember, heat impacts are cumulative, meaning they increase over time. It will be important to monitor your health and water intake over the next several days, especially in the noon to 7 p.m. time frame. Vulnerable populations, like those without access to air conditioning, will be at highest risk of heat illness."

In that spirit, the NWS office has expanded the heat advisory today to include pretty much all of Vermont.  Officially a heat index of 95 is needed to declare an advisory, but in long hot spells like this one, with the stress building day by day, an advisory is out just to alert people to take care. 

As I mentioned yesterday, it's a great idea to check on those vulnerable people the NWS refers to.  

Schools are reopening today, and they'll be hot, too. So far, as of 6:30 this morning, I don't see any school closings or early closings this afternoon.

Today and tomorrow will probably be a bit hotter than Monday, so it's intensifying. Thursday is still a wild card. We know it will be very warm and humid then, but I don't know yet if clouds and possible showers will prevent us from hitting again.

The late week and weekend are still looking pretty showery, with possible downpours before average September weather finally hits next week. 

Remember, heat impacts are cumulative meaning they increase
over time. It will be important to monitor your health and water
intake over the next several days especially in the noon to 7PM
timeframe. Vulnerable populations, like those without access to
air conditioning, will be at higher risk of heat illness.