Muggy air returning to Maryland, tough heat and storms to follow
In addition to the potentially dangerous combination of high temperatures and sweltering humidity, strong to severe thunderstorms will become a growing concern Saturday and Sunday during the afternoon and evening hours.
Today will be the last truly comfortable day as we are still under the protecting influence of high pressure. This will keep our skies partly cloudy and our temperatures seasonably warm. Humidity levels will start to climb this afternoon and evening as winds veer out of the southeast and south. While today will become noticeably muggy, it won't be unbearably hot, making it a good day for any outdoor activities.
By Thursday, summer heat makes a full return. Expect plenty of sunshine, higher humidity, and highs around 90 degrees. Humidity levels will be moderate, so the heat won't feel that extreme.
The heat intensifies Friday, with afternoon temperatures reaching the middle to upper 90s and heat index values exceeding 100. Friday has been designated a First Alert Weather Day due to the oppressive heat and humidity. An isolated or widely scattered late-day storm is also possible.
The hot temperatures combined with increasing levels of sweltering humidity will make for a miserably hot and humid weekend. High temperatures will top out in the middle 90s Saturday and lower 90s Sunday. Feels like temperatures will range between 100° and 108°. Overnight lows will only dip into the upper 70s and lower 80s.
Heading into the weekend, a shift in the upper-level weather pattern could bring more active conditions. As a ridge of high pressure retreats westward, the Mid-Atlantic will find itself under a northwest flow aloft. This setup allows upper-level disturbances to interact with hot and humid surface conditions, triggering showers and thunderstorms each day, especially during the afternoon and evening hours.
Given the abundance of heat and humidity in the atmosphere, storms will have more than enough fuel to grow into powerful clusters that pose a risk of damaging winds, hail, blinding downpours, and intense cloud to ground lightning. Our WJZ First Alert Weather Team has issued First Alert Weather Days for Saturday and Sunday for the combination of potentially dangerous heat and severe thunderstorms.
Conditions are expected to dry out somewhat by Monday, offering a brief reprieve before another cold front brings renewed chances for storms by the middle of next week.
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