The heat is on!

The very end of April will wind up much warmer than averages would suggest. Today's - Monday's - high temperature will be in the mid-80s under sunny skies, about ten degrees warmer than average. That will hold true for the rest of the week as May begins.

The southwesterly winds ushering in this heat are also pumping in moist air from the Gulf of Mexico source region. Thus humidity has also increased, with this morning's dew points in the low 60s creating that sticky feeling. This graphic is a reminder of the effect of the dew point on comfortability:

Another result of the calendar progressing toward summer is later sunsets. Yesterday was the first day that Sol (our sun's official name) dipped below the horizon at 8:00 p.m., meaning today is the first day of the year with a post 8 o'clock sunset.

Tuesday looks much the same as today both temperature and humidity-wise. However, afternoon skies will feature increasing cloudiness thanks to a weak cold front approaching the area. An upper level disturbance will then produce some scattered showers and perhaps a thunderstorm tomorrow evening into Wednesday morning.

The air mass behind this boundary isn't any cooler but it will be a bit drier. The rest of the week will still be much warmer than average, but the humidity will back off somewhat.