Impactful heat and humidity grip Middle Georgia
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Another round of isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms expected again this afternoon and evening. The overall pattern has not changed much but 
the old boundary from yesterday is now more oriented more east to west across North Georgia. Models showing this front acting as a catalyst again today for storms to fire off. The main surface Bermuda ridge centered just off the Georgia/South Carolina coast is strengthening and building west across Florida and across the Gulf. This vertically stacked ridge axis stays south of the state keeping Georgia in a westerly flow. This building ridge is not allowing the old boundary to move south and it may limit storm potential over Middle Georgia to more of an isolated chance. The main threats should these storms develop will be gusty winds, frequent lightning strikes, and locally heavy rainfall. An isolated severe storm or two can also be expected. Also, models are showing a 
wedge/ridge building southwest down the eastern seaboard and pushing that old boundary into Middle Georgia. Temperatures Tuesday will be a degree or two warmer than today especially across east Middle Georgia. We could see some locations have a couple of hours closer to 105 but we should stay just below the heat advisory criteria. The main story for the extended period will be rising temperatures and the potential for impactful heat late this week into the upcoming weekend. The set up responsible for these trends will be an eastward migrating ridge, currently over the Desert Southwest and high pressure at the surface. Temperatures are forecast to rise to the upper 80s to low 90s by Wednesday, with temperatures trending upward a degree or two each day going forward. Increasing moisture will support the return of dewpoints in the mid to upper 70s. Heat index values (the feels like temperatures) return to triple digit values for most places heading into next weekend. In the meantime, be mindful of the heat as you plan for any outdoor work or activities over the next 7 days.
