Extreme Heat, Scattered Storms Today

Get ready for another day of extreme heat. Today will be mostly sunny with high temperatures ranging from around 95 in Sioux Falls to the low 100s across northeastern South Dakota and in places along and west of the James River. It will be rather humid in the east. So while Sioux Falls’ actual temperature will be a bit cooler than it is in central and northern South Dakota, the heat index will be right up there at around 100 degrees this afternoon.

A cold front will slide across the Dakotas and into Minnesota and Iowa over the next couple of days. That front will bring a chance of showers and thunderstorms to central and northern South Dakota late this afternoon and evening, and to the Sioux Falls area late tonight and again tomorrow. While tomorrow will be a bit cooler than today, it will still be very humid.

A few storms could be strong to severe later today, tonight and again tomorrow. Large hail and damaging straight line wind gusts will be the main threat, however, a tornado is also possible.

Warm, humid weather will continue through most of the week with scattered thunderstorms possible just about every day through Friday. The weekend will be partly cloudy and humid with highs in the mid to upper 80s.

TODAY:
Sunny, hot and humid. High: 95°. Wind: South 10-20 mph.


TONIGHT:
Partly cloudy this evening, scattered thunderstorms are possible after midnight. Low: 72°. Wind: south 5-15 mph.

TOMORROW
Partly cloudy and cooler but still humid. Scattered thunderstorms are likely and some could be severe. High: 87°. Wind: South becoming Northeast 5-15 mph.

WEDNESDAY:
Partly cloudy with an isolated afternoon thunderstorm possible. High: 90°. Wind: Southeast 5-15 mph.

Today’s Severe Weather Outlook from the SPC

A Sunny, Hot Summertime Weekend

Grab your shorts, sunblock, shades and find some water. Whether it’s a lake, a pool, the sprinkler in your backyard or even one of those squirt gun fans, you are gonna need it this weekend. It is going to be sunny, hot and humid all weekend long.

Today will be sunny with high temps ranging from around 90 in Sioux Falls to the upper 90s along the James River to the low 100s across central and western South Dakota. Tomorrow will be even warmer with highs in the mid 90s in Sioux Falls and Aberdeen while central and western South Dakota soar to between 100 and 105 degrees. It will be humid east of the James River, so while the actual high might be in the 90s, the heat index will be pushing 100 degrees or better.

The heat will stick around through the weekend and into early next week. We will finally get some relief in the form of scattered showers and thunderstorms on Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday. High temperatures will drop into the 80s by Wednesday and Thursday.

The latest Drought Monitor was released yesterday and the results are what you might expect. The drought continues to expand with more than 72 percent of South Dakota is in some form of drought. Much of central and northern South Dakota are in either severe or extreme drought. Iowa and Minnesota are in good shape, although parts of northwestern Iowa are starting to get dry.

I’ll be closely watching the potential for rain next week. In the meantime, enjoy the sunny, hot weekend.

 

TODAY:
Sunny, warmer and more humid. High: 89°. Wind: Southeast 5-15 mph.


TONIGHT:
Clear. Low: 68°. Wind: south 5-10 mph.

TOMORROW:
Sunny, hot and humid. High: 95°. Wind: West 5-15 mph.

SUNDAY:
Sunny, warm and humid. High: 90°. Wind: East 5-15 mph.