EAST HARDWICK – Much of Vermont is in the wake of a short burst of extreme heat, which saw temperatures reaching the 90s for two days in a row. Although temperatures stopped short of qualifying this event as a heat wave (three days of 90 degree-plus highs), humidity during the peak intensity made conditions feel much hotter.
Monday’s high in Hardwick was 94 degrees, with Craftsbury Common reaching 92 degrees. Conversely, heat indices that factor in the effect of humidity peaked at 107 and 101 degrees in these locations, respectively. Montpelier’s high of 93 on Monday broke its previous record of 90 set in 1975. These conditions had significant potential to impact the health of anyone exposed to these conditions, regardless of the duration. Volunteers stood up a cooling center at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro for both Monday and Tuesday. Public safety officials also encouraged those needing relief from the heat to seek out local libraries and lakes to cool down.
The strong influence of the heat dome comes courtesy of a high-pressure area at the surface and aloft, migrating a hot a humid airmass north over the past several days and bringing generally sunny conditions. A brief burst of rain from some nocturnal thunderstorms brought a third of an inch of rain to the East Hardwick rain gauge by Sunday morning with the heat surge. Showers Tuesday afternoon and evening ahead of a cold front were expected to scour out the most oppressive heat and humidity. This leaves the stage set for more seasonable, even cool, conditions to start the forecast period.
Mostly dry conditions return for Wednesday and Thursday with high pressure just to our north, deflecting moisture south and west of our area, although waves of low pressure riding along the boundary migrate north by the time we reach Friday, with some scattered showers during the day and the possibility of more overnight thunderstorms for Friday night into Saturday morning. That wave begins to exit for the second half of Saturday with the warmer airmass once again attempting to nose north for Sunday. While it will be warmer and more humid, records should not be shattered in the same way as earlier this week. Here are the forecast details:
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High: 81. Low: 52. Wind northwest around 5 mph.
Thursday: Partly sunny. High: 76. Low: 53. Light and variable wind.
Friday: Increasing clouds with showers developing by afternoon. High: 72. Low: 54. Southeast wind 5-10 mph.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then scattered showers in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy. High: 70. Low: 57. South wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Partly sunny. High: 81. Low: 62. Light and variable wind.
Tyler is our weather reporter and a community journalist. He works as a nurse and EMT, volunteers with Hardwick Rescue and helps to train new EMTs.
