Weather! Some quick relief from the heat in store

There’s some relief from the heat in store for Thursday and Friday, but unfortunately it looks to be back by the weekend.

June 2, 2011; 3:42 AM • by Weather Dan

It’s June 1, the day in which we observe two important milestones: the beginning of both meteorological summer and beginning of hurricane season in the western Atlantic Ocean.

This first round of summertime heat always makes me think of one thing: Roosevelt E. Roosevelt’s weather report in Good Morning, Vietnam. (Slightly NSFW.)

Speaking of reminders, we got another reminder that tornadoes can and will strike anywhere, as a tornado was filmed by a local TV station’s towercam along the Connecticut River near Springfield, Massachusetts. Additional reports of possible tornadoes were documented by the Boston National Weather Service office in Hampden and Worcester. Unfortunately, four people died from today’s severe weather.

Now is a good time to remind you to have a plan to deal with severe weather. Now is a GREAT time to think about what to do if and when severe weather strikes; know where to go in your home or business to stay safe, know what to take with you, and have a communication plan to stay in touch with close friends and family members in the event that electricity or telephone service are lost. Urban and metropolitan areas are certainly not safe from tornadoes; last October’s tornado in Mechanicsville should be a simple reminder of that. Start thinking now about what you would do should another tornado touch down in or near the city limits.

As hurricane season begins for the Atlantic basin, we’ve already got some areas of interest in the Carribbean and Gulf of Mexico. There’s nothing significant happening with them at the moment, but continue to pay attention in case something develops. If you’re a fan of social media, you’ll be glad to know that the National Weather Service has launched some experimental Twitter accounts for providing updates; for hurricane information, check out @NHC_Atlantic and @NHC_Pacific.

We tied the record high of 98 degrees on Tuesday, first set in 1991. We hit 96 on Wednesday, just one short of the record of 97, also set in 1991.

The record heat will take a bit of a backseat beginning on Thursday, as a weak cold front approaches from the northwest and keeps high temperatures only around 90. It’s not much of a cold snap, but what will change is the humidity. Dewpoints have been in the upper 60s and low 70s over the last three days, meaning there has been an incredibly amount of moisture in the air. With the change to dewpoints in the low 50s, the air will feel significantly cooler, and we won’t have to worry about continued heat indices in the lower 100s. Overnight lows will drop into the upper 50s as the front passes today.

The real change comes on Friday, as high temperatures only reach the low 80s. High pressure over the region continues to keep the chances for any showers or storms to a minimum. Overnight lows Friday night again drop into the upper 50s. For the Flying Squirrels game Friday evening (7:05pm vs. Reading), expect game-time temperatures close to our daytime high and around 80, cooling off to near 70 by the ninth inning.

Unfortunately the break doesn’t last for long, as high temperatures again climb to above 90 by Sunday. There’s some concerns about showers and severe weather on Saturday, so I’m going to hold off on a weekend forecast for right now, but I’ll have one posted Friday evening. May you all find relief from the heat in one form or another.

June 2, 2011 3:42 AM 0