More Hot Weather...

July really looks to finish hotter then it started.  Yeah, I said hotter.  While there might be a few cooler days here or there, look for several days with temperatures at or above 90 degrees.  Some early forecasts show the latter part of next week into the weekend could be over 95 degrees.  The dewpoints will remain high and that in turn will drive heat indexes well into 100+ for many days.  I did see readings over 120 degrees for the heat index.  I hope that is wrong.

Speaking as a homeowner and general handyman, I strongly urge you to take an hour or two this weekend to give some TLC to your air conditioning system.  Get the weeds and grass away from the outside system.  Take the garden hose and clean the coils.  You may want to shut off power to the unit and spray from the inside out.  Be careful and call a professional if you don't feel confident.  Do not use a power washer of any kind.  That may seem like a quick and easy solution but the coils are fragile and will bend right over.  Then you will have problems.  You might consider getting some coil cleaner.  I picked mine up at Lowes but other places will likely have it.  While there, get a new furnace filter too.  You do not want your unit going down in the middle of the heat wave.  A clean AC unit works better and costs less to run.

Some severe weather could also be a problem with the heat.  However the really hot days have a high bust potential too.  Today was a good example where we have lots of instability but nothing really set it off.  Just a few hit or miss problems across the state.  I recorded about 3/4 of an inch of rain today.  Most of it in a very short amount of time.

Friday evening and Saturday look to be the best time of the weekend for outdoor activities and chores.  They will be very warm however.  Sunday brings back the threat of thundershowers with some possibly being severe.

I will keep an eye on the upcoming heat wave and there is maybe a 5% chance we could temperatures top the century mark before this month is done.

Let's cool off for a moment and talk about the 2010-2011 winter.  I am already seeing a few rough forecasts.  They are pretty much all over the road and I am just reading and making mental notes when I see them.  However here is one I really like from the Climate Prediction Center division of the NWS. See the December, January, February bullseye for above average precipitation for Indiana.  Sweet!