Enjoy Wednesday, because the rest of the week will be hot and humid, with a heat index that could surpass 100, and a chance for rain.
The threat of Hurricane Laura is increasing, with the storm expected to become a “catastrophic” Category 4 hurricane, even stronger than previously expected.
“Thursday and Friday will both be miserably hot and humid again,” NBC Washington Meteorologist Chuck Bell said.
Thursday will have the higher temperatures. Friday will have the higher humidity.
Highs on Thursday will be in the mid-90s, but the heat index could reach 100 to 104.
“The high clouds from Hurricane Laura will begin to arrive on Friday and should hold temperatures down a few degrees, but the increasing levels of tropical levels of humidity will offset any ‘cool down,'” Bell said.
The hurricane is expected to reach the Gulf Coast on Wednesday night and, while it will no longer be a hurricane, its cloud circulation is likely to be near Roanoke, Virginia, by noon on Saturday.
“Rainfall in our area could also be quite heavy with local amounts of 2 to 3 inches — the heaviest rain coming Saturday night,” Bell said. “Our waterlogged soil ahead of the storm means that flash flooding will be a concern from 2 p.m. Saturday until around sunrise on Sunday.”
The good news? A large area of high pressure dropping south from Canada will help make sure tropical downpours don’t hang around too long.
