We’re going to be dealing with near-record heat and poor air quality in metro Atlanta on Wednesday.
There is a Code Orange air quality alert in place for the entire metro area. Under Code Orange conditions, the outdoor air quality is likely to be unhealthy for those who suffer from heart or lung disease or those who have respiratory issues, such as allergies and asthma. People in those groups should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
Children and people with respiratory issues, such as allergies and asthma, should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors during the late afternoon or early evening when pollution concentrations are highest, the National Weather Service warns.
Air quality issues are common during the summer months, especially during very hot days with no rain when ground-level pollutants, such as exhaust from cars react with sunshine to create ozone, according to AirNow, which keeps track of air quality changes from the U.S. Air Quality Index.
Those are the exact conditions we will see today — high heat with lots of sunshine and no rain to clear the air.
“A few clouds will build in for the afternoon, but all the rain, it’s going to stay well to our south with some scattered showers there,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said.
Humidity is on the rise, too, so it’ll feel stickier today than it has been. And highs today will top out in the upper 90s, well above average for this time of year. The typical high for late August is 89 degrees, according to the NWS.
In the city, highs will top out around 96 degrees. The highest temperature on record is 99 degrees, which was set in 1925.
On Thursday, “we are certainly going to notice that humidity building,” Deon said. “Although we’ll start off the day nice and sunny, clouds will be on the increase, and we can’t rule out an isolated shower storm as we head into the afternoon.”
We’ll have better rain chances on Friday, and temperatures are expected to take a dip back into the low 90s then, too. We’ll keep those same conditions throughout Labor Day weekend: low 90s with a chance for isolated storms in the afternoon.
» For a detailed forecast, visit www.ajc.com/weather.
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