AccuWeather Long-Range Expert Joe Lundberg looks ahead to next week where a dangerous heat wave is expected to grip the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S.
00:00Joe, lots to discuss next week, and of course the big story is going to be the extreme heat.
00:07It is going to be front center, and it is going to be literally in your face next week.
00:11The extreme heat, I mean, we're talking temperatures mid to upper 90s, records are going to be challenged Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, maybe into Wednesday in some places.
00:20And not just the heat, the humidity combination, going to dry vacuum with the real fuel temperatures through the roof.
00:25Around this ridge, we call it the ring of fire, there's going to be some trouble with thunderstorms.
00:29Thunderstorms, potential for severe weather, damaging winds, and flooding downpours.
00:33And meanwhile, on the Atlantic, all is quiet, and it looks like that's not going to change anytime soon.
00:38About three months ago, Joe, we were talking about the drought, how extensive it was across the mid-Atlantic and parts of the northeast.
00:47And I think before it even happened, you said, boy, this next pattern that we're going to see as we get closer and closer to summer is going to obliterate the drought.
00:56Look at rainfall the last 30 days compared to the historical average.
01:00My backyard, Bernie, right here, five inches of rain about in the last week.
01:05It's just been incredible.
01:07And you can see the last 30-day rainfall here, the dark green shade.
01:10But pretty much everybody from southern England down into the southeast and over into the southern plains has had a lot of moisture.
01:16Now, you compare that, you take a look at the U.S. drought monitor.
01:19It's gone in most of the east.
01:20A couple little pockets in here and in here, and that's it, and that's minor.
01:24Still Florida dealing with it, particularly south Florida.
01:26The real problems in here, I'll give you a little sneak peek at some future things that we're going to be talking about.
01:32These areas may see some changes in that drought status as we get into July, but that's getting ahead of ourselves.
01:38All right, let's talk about next week, Joe.
01:39It's all about where that upper high is going to be.
01:42It really is.
01:43This is basically a dome of heat, a dome of high pressure that's going to just produce tremendous heat and humidity across all of this area,
01:51from the Plains, States, and Midwest, all the way to the Ohio Valley.
01:55Nineties, there's probably going to be a few triple-digit heats, a lot of record.
01:58It won't be as hot across the top, but I mentioned the ring of fire.
02:01There's moisture coming up from the tropics up into the southwest, so you'll see some shower and thunderstorm activity in here.
02:07And as disturbances come through the north and west, they go over the top of this ridge.
02:11There's probably going to be some shower and thunderstorm activity in here Monday, Tuesday, and into Wednesday.
02:16And some of that will creep eastward.
02:18And as it does, it may have a tendency to chip away at the heat as we go toward Thursday and Friday.
02:23Of course, Joe, it's been so busy in the eastern Pacific, but the Atlantic is quiet.
02:29Very quiet.
02:30Look at all the dry air across the main development region.
02:33And then as you go farther west, all right, so there's a lot less dry air, but there's still some.
02:38Then you're dealing with shear in these areas.
02:39Any places in dark purple is enough shear, and that's been just the death knell for any tropical development in the Atlantic Basin.
