Heat wave with high humidity to have southeastern US sweltering
A heat dome takes aim at southeastern United States with mid-summer swelter, 100-degree Fahrenheit highs and excessive humidity in store.
Dr. Michael Bailey joins the AccuWeather Network to share crucial information on how people can protect their pets from extreme heat during the summer season.
As a heat dome moves around over the United States, it will soon find a home over the Southeast states for a time, producing dangerous conditions for even long-time residents, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
In recent days, the heat dome was centered over the middle of the nation. From Thursday to Friday, it extended into the Northeast. Into the early week, it will build over the Southeast states and result in actual high temperatures within a few degrees of 100 F and AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures surpassing 110 for a time each day in many areas.
As the heat dome begins to shift southward this weekend, 175 million people in the Eastern states will experience AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures reaching 100 or higher.
Southern cities that will experience triple-digit highs during the stretch include Charlotte, North Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, Augusta, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The southeastern U.S. is quite a hot and humid place during the summertime, but humidity levels with this heat dome will be above what is typical, making for a proverbial steambath. Breezes may be hard to come by, except on the beaches and barrier islands of the Atlantic.
When combined with the heat and temperatures of 5-10 degrees above the historical average, it could be hard for some to handle, especially young children, the elderly and those toiling with manual labor jobs. The intense heat, sun and high humidity levels will push AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures skyward.
"There will be no real relief at night with lows in the upper 70s to near 80 in many of the larger cities, where downpours do not drench in the evening hours," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill said.
The downpours, while not widespread for most of the region, can be quite heavy and trigger flash flooding where they do occur, due to the excessive amount of moisture in the atmosphere.
A major pattern shift will bring significant cooling relief from the intense heat by the late week.
"That cooldown will be preceded by and accompanied with widespread rounds of thunderstorms that could produce localized flash flooding, but highs will drop back into the 80s with some reduction in humidity to follow," Merrill said.
The temperature trend in the Southeast will continue through the first three to five days of August.
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