With high temperatures in the Triad routinely in the mid to upper-90s multiple days in a row, and heat index readings well above 100 degrees, this month’s heat wave has been unusually warm — roughly ten degrees warmer than normal for this time of year.
National Weather Service meteorologist Nick Luchetti says rising temperatures like this are fairly typical in July, but the big concern is the high humidity.
"When you have that combination, obviously, like your body cannot evaporate that moisture away, can't wick it away from your skin, so you don't have the ability to cool yourself down if you're working outside, for example, or, you know, if you're someone, unfortunately, doesn't have air conditioning," he says. "So that's obviously the concern here, when you have that combination of the heat and the humidity."
While so far no high temperature records have been broken, on Sunday night in Greensboro, there was a record high minimum temperature of 76 degrees.
"Every time we see these heat waves, we look at the hospitalization numbers the next week or so, and they always rise because of repeated days of this heat and also little to no relief overnight," Luchetti says.
He says for vulnerable populations — the elderly, pregnant women, those without access to air conditioning — there are cooling centers scattered throughout the region. And there is some weather relief on the horizon. On Thursday, a cold front is expected to arrive that will usher in cooler, drier air. Friday’s highs will be in the 80s. Saturday’s, possibly as low as the upper 70s.