The Heat, Humidity And Rain And Storms Continue, But Relief Is On The Vermont Horizon

 We pretty much started August the way we endured almost all of July -- hot and humid. 

The early morning sky today in St. Albans, Vermont had
that humid, hazy, vaguely smoky quality to it that
almost always heralds a hot, humid day. Expect it
to be close to 90 this afternoon with crappy humidity. 

Will it ever end? Spoiler: Yes. 

It was 90 degrees yet again in Burlington on Thursday, the 12th day this year it's gotten at least the hot. I looked back in Burlington's weather records and could find only 18 summers out of the past 115 years that had as many days reaching 90 degrees.

This summer could well get into slightly more rare territory today. The forecast calls for a high of at least 90 degrees in Burlington today. A heat advisory has been posted for the Champlain Valley and the western half of Rutland county through 8 pm. today. 

The heat, combined with the humidity, should make it feel like it's in the mid-90s. The rest of Vermont didn't quite qualify for a heat advisory, but it will still be incredibly oppressive and dangerous if you're working too hard out there. 

Those of you involved in flood cleanup in the Northeast Kingdom need to slow it down and take a lot of water and shade breaks. I know you want to get back up on your feet, but please not at the expense of heat exhaustion or possibly fatal heat stroke. 

Heat effects are cumulative, and it's been nasty for awhile. Today was the fourth morning in a row in Burlington that didn't make it below 70 degrees. Take it easy, folks! 

To make matters even a bit worse, there will be some wildfire smoke in the air, too. Most of it will be aloft, so air quality shouldn't get too bad here on terra firma. But people with breathing issues should take care. A little pollution combined with the heat can be a nasty combo.

MORE RAIN CHANCES

Much like Thursday, any showers and thunderstorms that might pop up during the afternoon will be very few and far between. And probably small. So those of you spooked by the risk of flash floods can have a day off.  Some showers and a few storms might work their way into mostly southern Vermont overnight tonight. But soils aren't that wet down there. Southern Vermont can probably handle it 

Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday are different. On those days, there's a low, but not zero chance of local, isolated instances of renewed flash flooding. As if we need it. Showers and storms will increase both days as weather disturbances and cold fronts approach.  

As always, they will be hit and miss. As always in a Vermont summer, the distribution of rainfall is uneven. This year, it's extreme. In the past week, an area around St. Johnsbury has gotten at least 8.5 inches of rain. Here in St. Albans, the grand total over the past seven days adds up to just 0.2 inches. 

It's impossible to know in advance who will get nailed by downpours and who will escape with nothing worse than sprinkles. I'll emphasize if flash flooding does crop up again, it should be just isolated cases. You know the drill by now. 

It will remain quite warm and humid, though 90 degree temperatures seem unlikely given the expected clouds and showers. 

LONG LASTING RELIEF?

Notice above I said cold fronts. We're still looking at an extremely noticeable change in the weather pattern. One that will drop temperatures and especially humidity. 

You'll notice the humidity declining Monday. Perhaps not until later in the day, but it seems to be on the way. And if the forecasts hold, Tuesday and Wednesday look downright refreshing. 

Knock on wood, this shift to cooler weather might have some staying power. Unlike the very few brief breaks we've seen this summer. Some extended forecasts have the coolish weather more or less continuing into mid-month. 

Not sure whether that will pan out. But we're past the peak of summer. We expect better and better chances of cool breaks as we go through the month. Even if we're still at risk of muggy, oppressive spells into early September.