WSET.com - ABC13Looking Ahead by Matt Ferguson

Recently we have all been doing a lot of sweating! The scorching temperatures the last week have been tough to take (mid to upper 90s), with heat index values between 100 and 110. Late July almost always is hot, but with afternoon highs 5 to 10 degrees above average and high humidity, it makes it that much worse. So far the hottest day in Lynchburg was Friday 7/22 when we hit 100 degrees, but believe it or not, that still didn't break a record. The record high for that day was 102 set back in 1926. While it has been very hot, we have been very fortunate to see scattered afternoon thunderstorms to cool things down at bit.

More sizzling heat is on the way for late week and into the upcoming weekend. Highs go back up into the mid to upper 90s. When I'm out in the community it's always great to say hello to you all. Lately a number of you have asked, is this extreme heat going to last for the rest of the summer? Well here is some insight!

A lot of times when a weather pattern sets up for a couple of weeks, the pattern becomes dominant for the rest of the season. That looks to be the case this time. The latest 14 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center shows above normal temperatures anticipated in the same locations that have seen the high heat, including us (see images 1 and 2). Notice how they have us shaded near the above average precipitation amounts. So again chances of showers and thunderstorms look good from time to time, especially when the intense heat lessens.

Long term or at least for the next few months expect temperatures to remain near to above normal and rainfall to be below to near normal. Images three and four are the forecast from the Climate Prediction Center for August through October. If we could just keep everything close to normal, I'd be happy. I'm a fan of all of the weather seasons right here in Virginia.