The upper-level ridge that's kept the heat wave cranking slowly tracks east and starts to lose influence into your Independence Day weekend. This will do a couple of things; first, the stifling heat will gradually start to back off. Second, it'll allow the development of showers and storms. Friday won't change much; we're still very hot and steamy with highs in the mid 90s and the heat index maxing out around 100° to 110°. The extreme heat warning is in effect for one more day. Watch for isolated afternoon showers and storms Friday with a few possible Saturday and scattered showers and storms to wrap up the weekend. We'll need to watch for storms that produce gusty wind and locally heavy rain. With increasing cloud cover and the waning influence of that high, the heat will slowly back off with highs in the low 90s Saturday (a heat advisory is likely) and around 90° Sunday. Next week looks more typical for this time of the year with a daily chance for scattered showers and storms and highs in the mid to upper 80s.
The Heat Wave Slowly Winds Down Independence Day Weekend
But Active Weather Slowly Fires Up
