HOUSTON – It’s summer in Houston and you know what that means. It’s hot, real hot.
Heat advisories have been issued for Tuesday for the Houston area. This is because feels like temperatures will be near or greater than 108 degrees.
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Lets take a look at the heat and what is causing it.
The heat
As I mentioned, heat advisories have been issued for most of southeast Texas on Tuesday. The advisory lasts from noon until 8 p.m. The only exception will be coastal counties where the water will help keep temperatures and feels like temperatures a few degrees cooler than further north. It will still be hot down along the coast though.
The feels like temperature in Houston will be above 100 degrees every day this week. Our forecast is calling for the heat index to reach anywhere from 104 on Friday to 107 Tuesday. Because of that, I imagine we may have heat advisories reissued for several days this week.
So what is causing the high temperatures? Right now, a high pressure system in the upper atmosphere is located over Mexico. Inside this area, the air compresses and warms at the surface. It then expands, creating a dome, thus the name heat dome. This is a pretty common pattern for the summer in this part of the country. Next week, it appears the high will begin to slide east, directly over Texas at one point and should keep moving east from there. Because of that, feels like temperatures could be even warmer next week.
You can see the forecast for that high to move in the latest temperature outlook. The Deep South looks to see above average temperatures for the week of July 2 - July 8. You can thank that high pressure system which will be moving over towards the southeast coast of the United States.
Overview
- Heat advisories have been issued for most of southeast Texas Tuesday as feels like temperatures will approach or exceed 108 degrees.
- Heat is caused by area of high pressure over Mexico, which will be sliding to the east over the coming week, bringing higher than average temperatures to the Deep South.
With temperatures rising, it is time to think safety in the heat. Stay indoors whenever possible. If you need to be outside for longer periods of time, be sure to drink lots of water. Check on your neighbors, especially the elderly. Also, make sure children are handling the heat ok.