AccuWeather forecast: Temperatures nearing 100 degrees for a stretch next week

Starting this coming Wednesday, those of us in the Shenandoah Valley get four days in the temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun range.

Per AccuWeather, it’s going to be in the mid to upper 90s here through next weekend, and how you can tell it’s going to be muggy is, the overnight lows start in the low 70s, and peak at 80 on Thursday night into Friday morning.

For context there, regarding the forecast of 80 for a low on Thursday into Friday – the average high for July 1-2 is in the 85 range.

We’re talking real feels in the triple digits, barely any wind – the forecast is for 5 mph or less.

The weather nerds call it a “heat dome,” and the one to come will span, per the folks at AccuWeather, from Texas to Minnesota, from Florida to Pennsylvania.

What is a ‘heat dome’?

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“A heat dome is a sprawling area of high pressure that creates hot and humid conditions for days or weeks at a time,” AccuWeather expert meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.

“Heat domes can prevent clouds from forming, resulting in abundant sunshine that boosts temperatures, potentially toward record levels,” Pydynowski said.

AccuWeather July 4th weekend forecast

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• Dangerous heat will push temperatures into the 90s across much of the central U.S., with some cities like Chicago and St. Louis facing possibly a week or more of 90-degree heat.
• AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures are forecast to hit or exceed 100 degrees each afternoon, with elevated overnight lows heightening heat stress — especially for those without air conditioning.
• Storm clusters will form on the heat dome’s edge, and conditions could promote long lines of thunderstorms with damaging winds that can stretch for hundreds of miles called derechos.

Watch out for the threat of storms

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“With heat and humidity nearby, any clusters of thunderstorms that develop can produce damaging winds, resulting in downed trees, power outages, and other damage. Intense thunderstorm clusters can even form into a derecho, a long-lived and significant windstorm. The risk of thunderstorm clusters with damaging winds may be highest next Tuesday or Wednesday,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said.

Our forecast has the chance of rain ranging from 15 to 30 percent for the July 1-4 period.