There is signs that heat and humidity is building and expanding as we progress through July. The first heat wave of the summer showed up over the Southwest, it’s now over the Southeast and it’s likely to be heading for the nation’s 3rd drought region, the Northeast as we head into mid month.

It’s been hot throughout the Southern Tier.

Yesterday’s highs.

So hot in Columbia, SC, today marks the 7th straight 100F+.

The latest GFS 500mb height anomaly snap shots show the powerful trough pushing into the Pacific Northwest and across the N Rockies, forcing the heat east next 48 hours.

The current storm system now pushing through the Northeast has kicked out the heat and humidity of recent days where air temps in the 90s and heat indexes well into the 100s sweltered the DC to Boston corridor. Refreshing air now covers the Northeast but only through the weekend as hot air re fires up the Plains preceding the next system now pushing into the Pacific Northwest.

That NW/N Rockies trough gets redirected up into Canada which stops the ridge from heading out into the Atlantic. In fact it builds back west and strengthens, driving temps from Chicago to New York to the highest levels of the year potentially.

Models are suggesting a coast to coast ridge beyond July 20.

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GFS ensemble 5-day mean shows the ridge building over the East then Central states towards late July.

GFS ensemble 5-day mean 2m temp anomaly

See this evening’s video.

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