Today's highs were 89-95 degrees. The heat index was from 93 to 103. We weren't the only ones who were scorching.
The temperature in Champaign, Illinois reached 96 degrees Fahrenheit, with a heat index of 104.
Sterling, IL hit 97, Pontiac hit 95, Boscobel, WI hit 95, and the Iowa County Airport in western Wisconsin hit 95. The mid-90s were also recorded in eastern Iowa.
Heat to showers in Iowa
ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images
The pale, hazy sky is caused by smoke from wildfires in New Mexico and southeastern Colorado. That smoke is circling the heated higher ridge.
The smoke will be present on Thursday and Friday, as per News18.
The haze near the ground is caused by moisture and pollen, not smoke.
Severe storms will continue to move north, northwest, and west of our area through Friday.
Lows tonight should be in the 63-70 degree range as dry air from the east begins to seep in later tonight, reducing our eastern county lows to 63-64.
Thursday and Friday are expected to have highs of 85-90, but humidity will drop to 39-50 dew points, down from 67-75 today.
Considering the heating of that dry, sinking air, They were hoping for highs in the 90s and 95s on Thursday but ultimately chose model analysis over the personal interpretation this time because to the broad model consensus.
Lows tomorrow night should be in the 57-62 degree range due to the dry, dry air.
Dew points will range from 55 to 61 on Friday.
The skies will be largely bright to partly cloudy. On both days, winds will be from the southeast to the south-southeast.
Severe storms are expected to re-ignite Friday evening in eastern Iowa and eastern Missouri and travel eastward.
The line of storms looks to be collapsing in eastern Illinois and gusting out as they hit capping, ridging, and dew points closer to 60-65 than the plume of +70 ahead of the storms further west.
Following some cooler-than-usual weather earlier this month, things have really warmed up; our typical maximum temperature for this time of year at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee is 71 degrees, and our average low temperature is 47 degrees, as per 22 News.
It will be a warm day with partly to mainly sunny skies Thursday afternoon. The high temperature will be approximately 80 degrees, with low breezes.
Thursday night's skies will be partly overcast, with lows in the low to mid-50s. Overnight, there may be some patchy fog.
Friday will be largely overcast in the morning and partly sunny in the afternoon. Another warm day is forecast, with highs in the upper 70s to near 80 degrees.
As the week progresses and the weekend approaches, the temperatures will seem more like summer. The mild weather will continue over the weekend, although there is a risk of a few passing showers.
The reason for the warmer weather is that the jet stream is far to our north, enabling warmer air from the south to travel up into our direction.
This will continue for the foreseeable future for both Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures reaching the low 80s.
