Hot and Getting Hotter.
At 4pm the DFW temperature was sitting at 99°, the hottest day of the year so far. There is a good chance we'll hit 100° for the first time since August 23rd of 2010 ( that day it hit 107°, the hottest day in 2010 and the last day in a streak where 22 out of 23 days in the month recorded a triple digit high). Waco broke a record high today at 101°.
We expect the afternoon storms to continue to go past sunset by about an hour and a half. A few more warnings before the day is done I suspect with these slow-moving storms in our eastern half. Lows tonight in the mid-70's., very mild.
Highs on Monday around 100°, within a few degrees of a new record high. We'll again see afternoon storms in our eastern half but only about a 20% coverage at best. Winds will stay on the light side, out of the southeast 5-10mph.
Around 100° again on Tuesday with very small storm chances across our southern tier, from Hillsboro over to Palestine. These storms will be from the sea-breeze that sets in along the coast line this time of year. I know the Gulf is rather far away but such meteorological features is one reason the DFW area is considered on northern edge of the Gulf Coastal plain.
These sea-breeze afternoon/early evening storms remain in the forecast the rest of the week. For the majority of us it'll stay very hot and very dry. As it stands right now 14 of the last 16 days have seen highs in the 90's. We expect that the next seven days will continue the streak with a few 100° days thrown in. Most of the other days will hover in the upper 90's. If you don't have a pool better make friends with someone who does. Unless your have a 7-foot German center who shoots like a point guard its the only way to beat the heat. Just bring the cooler, its only fair.
Last June we suffered three 100° days, all of them in the last 10 days of the month. The heat has started a little early this year. Historically speaking we usually see our first one by July 1st though we've had one as early as March 9th. We typically have 16 days a year where the high at DFW hits at least 100 degrees.
Today was the first day this year the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued an air pollution alert for the DFW area. Tomorrow is the 2nd, a level orange air pollution watch. Ozone levels could reach the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" category.
