First Alert: Outlook for Tuesday morning

Today will be the hottest (and wettest) day of the week before a cold front arrives on Wednesday. There is also a slight but not insignificant risk of strong thunderstorms this afternoon into tonight. Full sunshine and southwest winds will heat things up very quickly today, with official afternoon highs of around 95 to 99. Dew points will rise above 70… giving us calculated heat index values ​​of around 105-110 by the afternoon. There is a slight but significant risk of strong to severe thunderstorms late this afternoon and evening, moving out of the northwest. The greatest risk of this affecting our area is in northern southeastern and southern Illinois counties.

Thunderstorm chances generally increase overnight into Wednesday as a cold front moves through the area, although it’s very difficult to time thunderstorms… and some models are actually calling for mostly dry weather after Wednesday morning. But it will be a little cooler and less humid for a few days to finish the work week before warming up again Saturday. Another cold front could bring more thunderstorms again late Saturday or Saturday night, with another quick cool down just behind the front.

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