Going for #51 Friday afternoon; Heat and humidity climb for the weekend

Mostly cloudy skies for Friday as a layer of clouds will remain in place above 20,000 feet in the air.  An isolated shower will be possible throughout the day, although I think the vast majority of southeast Nebraska will remain dry.

Even with filtered sunshine, temperatures will climb back to the low 90°s Friday afternoon.

Skies will remain mainly cloudy this evening for high school football games.  It will be warmer compared to last Friday.  Temperatures around kickoffs will be in the upper 80°s.  As the games come to an end it should be in the low 80°s.

Mainly cloudy skies and winds shifting to the south will keep temperatures higher overnight.  Lows Saturday morning will be in the upper 60°s to around 70°.

DID YOU KNOW

This will make the 51st day Lincoln has reached 90° this year.  Where does that stack compared to normal 90° days?  The 30-year to date average is 34.  The 30-year annual average is 42 days.  Traditionally, the city average 8 more days of reaching 90° from this date through the end of the year.

HEAT AND HUMIDITY SURGE

A warm front will lift through eastern Nebraska Saturday morning.  This will allow warmer, more humid air to move back in to the state.  Temperatures Saturday should top out around 90°.  Dew point temperatures in the middle 60°s will send the peak heat index in to the lower 90°s.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible starting late Saturday afternoon and continuing through early Sunday morning.  Not everyone will receive rain.  In fact, I think areas west of a line from Grand Island to Hebron may stay dry.  You’ll want to check back for later forecasts for the latest timing and thoughts on areas that could see rain.

Rain should come to an end Sunday morning.  As we go through the day, clouds will erode and we will end up with a lot of sunshine for the afternoon.  That, along with a cold front to the northwest, will send temperatures in to the low to mid 90°s Sunday afternoon.

Humidity will also be high Sunday.  Dew point temperatures – the measure of the moisture in the air – will climb in to the upper 60°s to around 70°.  This will take the heat index in to the upper 90°s.  I’m projecting a peak heat index of 99° in Lincoln late Sunday afternoon.

– Chief Meteorologist John Dissauer