6/18/2020: Heat and humidity build, summertime storms by the weekend

Make sure you take steps to stay cool this week! Heat and humidity are on the rise, and will ultimately lead to daily pop up storm chances starting this weekend.

Thursday got off to a mild start across the News10 region, with temperatures only falling into the mid 60’s in Albany! Most everyone else fell into the 50’s.

It was also an early start in terms of sunshine! Today’s sunrise at 5:17 AM is the earliest we’ll have all year. Sunrise will gradually move later in the day beginning on Monday.

High pressure is still in control, so we expect to stay dry and keep a good deal of sunshine. The center of the high, however, has slid off the coast. Because winds flow clockwise around a high, our winds have shifted and are now coming from the south.

This will pump in more warmth and humidity, and temperatures will rise quickly throughout the day. We’ll be in the 70’s by 10 AM, in the 80’s by lunchtime, and ultimately peak near 90 this afternoon.

Expect the highest temps along the Hudson and in Albany and Troy. The hills and mountains surrounding town will peak in the low to mid 80’s.

After a toasty day, it’ll be a mild night. Temperatures will fall only into the upper 60’s across the Capital District thanks to clouds and higher humidity.

Most will stay dry tomorrow, but with highs in the upper 80’s and even more humidity than Thursday… we’ll be hoping for rain! A stray shower or storm is possible southwest of the Capital District, but any pockets of rain will be few and far between.

It’s not until Saturday that conditions will allow for more widespread showers and storms. Expect them to start bubbling up after lunchtime as temperatures soar.

Saturday is also the Summer Solstice! A combination of an early sunrise and late sunset make it the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours. It’s also the first day of astronomical Summer (for record-keeping purposes, us meteorologists define seasons based on the months rather than the solstices). It’ll certainly feel like it, with a high of 90 and the afternoon rain chance.

Father’s Day and Monday will feature the highest rain chances of the week. While neither day is a washout, you have the best chance to see afternoon storms on either of those days. Highs will stay in the 80’s to near 90 for the foreseeable future.