UPDATE [5:04 p.m.]: Temperatures in Atlanta reached 99 degrees late Wednesday afternoon, setting a record high for this date.
Atlanta’s former record high for June 15 was 96, which was set in 1952, according to the National Weather Service.
It was the hottest day in the city since Sept. 12, 2019, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz said. Areas on the Southside had temperatures that eclipsed 100 degrees.
ORIGINAL STORY: The heat is on again Wednesday, and North Georgia will up the ante with a slate of warnings and advisories and the chance to break heat records this afternoon.
With high humidity, it could feel more like 100-plus degrees outside once the sun is high in the sky.
The National Weather Service has scheduled a heat advisory to take effect at 11 a.m. for most of North Georgia, including metro Atlanta, as heat index values climb up to 107 degrees. An excessive heat warning was issued for areas near Athens and to the southeast, where extreme heat and humidity could contribute to heat-related illness.
“It is going to be another scorcher today,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said. “Feels-like temperatures will be in the triple digits once again, but we are going to be as hot as 110 around Athens as well as Eatonton, where we do have an excessive heat warning in place.”
Actual air temperatures could top 100 degrees in Athens this afternoon, she said.
It will be important Wednesday to limit time outdoors, wear lightweight clothing and stay hydrated, Deon said. Those with outdoor plans should get them in early, she said, as showers and thunderstorms are 40% likely this afternoon.
Deon said rain activity will be isolated during the early afternoon hours but will really get rolling later in the day. She expects Atlanta to stay very warm even through the evening hours, with temperatures in the 80s after sunset.
“Well see that chance for storms to last right on through the evening,” she said. “Some could become strong, maybe even reaching severe limits, with damaging winds and hail.”
This hot weather isn’t going anywhere the next few days. According to Deon, a dome of high pressure sitting overhead will allow hardly any breaks in the heat as temperatures soar into the 90s each day this week.
The triple-digit heat index values will continue all the way through the end of the work week, she said, but relief is coming for the weekend in the form of lower humidity.
It won’t last long, however.
“It looks like even by next week we could get close to 100 degrees in Atlanta,” Deon said. “The last time we hit 100 was August of 2019.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
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