⚠️ An air quality alert is in effect today. Ozone levels will be unhealthy for sensitive groups (active children, the elderly, and people with asthma and COPD). MORPC has more info here.
The 614cast
Today’s tl;dr
⛅ Partly cloudy and humid. High around 90 with a heat index in the upper 90s.
Forecast highlights
🤢 Today is the last gross day
Thankfully, clouds persisted into the early afternoon yesterday, which helped hold temperatures back some compared to what they would have otherwise been. I don’t expect that to happen again today.
With the continued humidity, heat indices will climb well into the 90s, as well.
But look at that drop Thursday.
Much more enjoyable temperatures and dew points last straight into the weekend. Dew points fall into the 60s tomorrow (somewhat humid but not bad) and 50s thereafter. That is much drier air!
🌦️ Rain looks iffy today, better chance tomorrow
There’s not much happening today to spark any thunderstorms, so our odds are pretty low this afternoon and evening. Somewhat better chances come Thursday, but that’s not a guarantee, either.
If anything can fire up today or tonight, it could produce gusty winds. As of yesterday afternoon, the Storm Prediction had us in a marginal (level 1/5) risk of severe storms. A local downpour is also possible yet again.
Whatever happens on Thursday will be more showery than thundery. The reason for that? The atmosphere won’t have much energy to make thunderstorms. Most of the “oomph” will be scoured away behind a cold front, the same one that’s ushering in the drier and cooler weather.
📊 Today’s almanac
Normal low/high: 65 / 85
Record low/high: 49 (1981) / 99 (1940)
Sunrise/set: 6:29 a.m. / 8:47 p.m.
🌠 Lesser-known meteor showers peak tonight
Meteor showers sometimes generate a lot of buzz, which can result in disappointment for those who expect to see shooting stars frequently streaking across the sky. The thing is, the peak numbers that are often shared — say, 50 meteors per hour — are under absolute ideal conditions: no moonlight, no artificial light, etc. Suffice it to say, that’s not what most people experience, which means you’ll see far fewer meteors. I say that not to discourage you from gazing at the night sky, but rather to keep your expectations where they should be.
The well-known Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12, but that show will be pretty washed out by a just-past-full moon. There are a couple of other minor meteor showers currently happening, though, that might be worth checking out if you’re patient and don’t mind being out on a humid night.
The Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids are peaking, which may produce 20 to 30 meteors per hour in ideal conditions. Again, though, the realistic number will be lower.
Want to try your luck? Here are some considerations:
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Go out after midnight.
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Get away from city lights.
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Have a view toward the southern sky (with limited light pollution that direction, too).
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Let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least 15 minutes.
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Don’t look at your phone! The bright screen will “reset” your eyes.
Even if you don’t see any meteors, that’s okay. You’re still out in nature, enjoying the night and all the sounds (or quietness, as the case may be) that go along with that.
Want to know more? NPR and EarthSky have you covered.
🌭 Bonus weather weenie content
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On the road with NOAA as they face uncertainty in their agency and the weather (Rolling Stone)
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Unusual outbreak of tropical cyclones hits the Central Pacific (Eye on the Tropics)