OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – It was another warm day around the region; highs wound up at 88 degrees in Beckley and above it in parts of the southern coalfields. There is dry air in place, but with temperatures starting so warm and short amounts of night hours, lows tonight will only drop into the upper 60s and lower 70s.
Tomorrow, the heat gets cranked up a little more, and most areas outside the highest elevations will see temperatures soar into the 90s in the afternoon.
It’s not quite record-setting stuff, but it’s hot enough to cause people who have to be outside in the afternoon to take extra precautions. Drink plenty of water, take it easy, don’t overexert, and try to find a shady or air-conditioned spot to cool off.
Lows tomorrow night will be warm again, once again only dropping to right around 70 degrees.
This brings up one of the issues with heat waves. While daytime temperatures are the driving factor for those who have to be outside, for those in living quarters without a sufficient cooling mechanism, warm nights don’t allow much cooling. By the time the heat wave stretches into its second or third day, those places can get very warm.
That’s what will be happening in our area later this week. Highs on Thursday will be even warmer than they’ll be on Wednesday, and we’ll come close to the record high in Beckley, a record that has stood for nearly a century!
By Independence Day, the heat wave eases slightly, but we’ll still see highs in the mid-to-upper 80s. The other addition to the forecast will be the chance for showers and storms as a front approaches from the northwest. Rain chances will start on Friday and won’t be very high at first. The showers are a sign that more moisture has returned to the area. That will increase humidity levels even more, giving us a true summer-like feel to our weather. Early next week, we’ll return to an active weather pattern as a disturbance will be parked just to our south.
Click below for a video version of the forecast…
https://youtu.be/cV5Weyt-8EU
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