Intense heat, air quality alerts in effect across Maryland
Temperatures for the first half of this week will be more likely the middle of July with highs in the middle to upper 90s. A few strong to severe storms later Wednesday will break the intense stretch of heat.
Waves of rain and showers along with unseasonably cool temperatures may lead to a damp and cool Memorial Day Weekend across central and eastern Maryland.
Hot weather with intense heat developing across Maryland
An Air Quality Alert in effect until midnight for Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County, Harford, and Cecil counties. If you have asthma or any other respiratory or cardiac conditions, you'll want to limit your time outdoors during the peak heat of the day. The air is unhealthy for these sensitive groups to breathe, especially during the peak heat of the day.
Hot temperatures and moderate levels of humidity will be the big story across Maryland for the first half of the workweek.
Monday's forecast is looking like a sizzler with highs in the middle 90s for Baltimore City, upper 90s north & west of the Baltimore Beltway and temperatures in the upper 80s near and along Chesapeake Bay. Skies should stay partly to mostly sunny for most neighborhoods today. A few stray to isolated strong to severe storms are possible across Carroll and Frederick counties this afternoon, but most of our area remains rain-free. The greatest threat from any of the isolated strong to severe storms that do develop is from damaging wind gusts.
With a mostly clear sky Monday night, low temperatures will drop into the upper 60s to around 70°.
Tuesday will be the most scorching day of this round of heat. Many areas will hit high temperatures in the middle to upper 90s across central Maryland. Thankfully humidity levels won't be unbearable, but you'll still need to take hot weather precautions such as drinking plenty of water, taking breaks from being in the direct sun, and wearing loose weight, light colored clothing. Tuesday's weather looks completely dry across our area.
The First Alert Weather Team has tagged Wednesday as a possible First Alert Weather Day for afternoon and evening strong thunderstorms. Downpours, lightning, and strong gusty winds are the greatest threats from these storms.
Wednesday will be the last day of this stretch of unseasonably hot weather. High temperatures will soar into the lower to middle 90s by early afternoon. A strong cold front will approach central and eastern Maryland late Wednesday afternoon and evening. This will allow widespread showers and thunderstorms to develop along it. Right now, there are some mixed signals with how much severe weather the region may get. At the very least, a few rounds of gusty thunderstorms are possible during the afternoon and evening commute.
Cooler, wet weather late week into Memorial Day Weekend
The cold front that brings showers and strong storms to the area Wednesday will sink just to our south Thursday through the upcoming holiday weekend.
This means we'll be locked into an abundance of cloud cover and cool east to northeasterly winds only allowing for high temperatures in the 60s to lower 70s. We'll see waves of rain developing during this stretch of days with a series of low pressure systems developing along the stalled front.
This setup does have the advantage of bringing some beneficial rain to the area, but the timing doesn't look great for our holiday weekend and outdoor weather plans.
As we get closer the holiday weekend, we should be able to better pinpoint with clarity the windows of rain as none of the days look like complete washouts.
Stay with the WJZ First Alert Weather Team for updated timing for the stronger storms on Wednesday afternoon and the specific windows of rain and dreary weather for the upcoming holiday weekend.