Weather Alert: End in Sight to Abnormal Heat

A torrid heat wave that’s capped almost two weeks without rain could end tonight—surely Thursday—as heavy rains are expected to arrive in Westchester County.

“When you have a summer that is very dry, and then you throw a monster Bermuda high pressure over top of us… you have a recipe for some record setting heat,” explains Bill Potter of Hudson Valley Weather. “ That is precisely what we’ve got here. Monday and Tuesday were record hot… and they were forecast to be record hot. But both days surpassed their projected high temperatures and broke records, in part because of how dry it’s been this summer. A dry terrain helps to enhance an already dry air mass… and the drier the air mass… the hotter you can get temperatures to climb, even to record territory.”

Wednesday’s temperatures should continue the trend, at about 10 degrees above normal.

But—all should end soon.

The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for the county, saying showers and possibly some thunderstorms producing heavy rain may lead to flooding in poor drainage and low-lying areas through Thursday.

However, “the development of the rain bands will be unpredictable,” Potter said, “meaning someone could get 0.30″ of rain from this storm… and someone 30 miles away could get 3.00″ from this storm.”

The NWS is forecasting the heaviest rain for late Thursday evening. Most of Thursday is expected to be cloudy with some showers.

Here is the forecast through Friday night from the National Weather Service:

Thursday: Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Thursday Night: Showers. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Lows in the upper 60s. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80 percent.

Friday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers in the morning... Then partly sunny with a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s. North winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s.

Map via AccuWeather.com