Good morning and happy Wednesday, everybody.
We’ve officially made it to hump day.
Cooler Air Settles In Across East Tennessee
Tuesday turned out to be a fantastic weather day across East Tennessee.
Officially, McGhee Tyson Airport topped out at 77 degrees and picked up just 0.29 inches of rainfall.
That’s below average for late June and honestly pretty hard to beat.
Now this morning, high pressure is continuing to build into the region, and that’s keeping us dry and comfortable.
A small disturbance to our south will throw some high clouds into the area today, but that’s really about it.
Nothing impactful.
Just some filtered sunshine from time to time.
Another Refreshing Start This Morning
You can definitely feel the difference outside this morning.
Temperatures are running 5 to 10 degrees cooler compared to this time yesterday.
Most locations are waking up in the 50s, with a few pockets of low 60s.
That’s pretty refreshing for late June in East Tennessee.
And with lower humidity still in place, it’s making for another great start to the day.
Wednesday Forecast: Mostly Sunny and Comfortable
Through the day today, expect a mix of sunshine and some passing high clouds.
Winds stay light.
Humidity stays low.
And temperatures warm into the low to mid 80s.
That still keeps us below average for this time of year.
Not bad at all.
By this evening:
Temperatures will still be sitting around 81 degrees by 7 PM.
And thanks to the drier air, it’s going to feel fantastic.
If you’ve got dinner plans, ballgames, a walk around the neighborhood, or just want to sit outside on the patio — tonight is another good one.
Humidity Begins Creeping Back Thursday
Enjoy the comfortable air while it lasts.
The dew points stay manageable over the next 24 hours, but they begin climbing late Thursday.
That’s when the humidity starts making a comeback.
By Friday and into the weekend:
The mugginess returns.
And once that moisture builds back in, so do our rain chances.
Classic summertime setup.
Next Storm System Arrives Friday Into Saturday
Our next disturbances in the atmosphere will start moving in from the west.
These little waves will help trigger scattered showers and thunderstorms as we close out the week.
Right now, most of the heavier rainfall still looks to stay north of us across Kentucky.
But East Tennessee will still get in on some of the action.
Best timing right now looks to be:
Friday afternoon into Saturday
That’s where we’ll see our highest rain coverage.
Rainfall totals through the weekend:
Around a quarter inch to maybe a half inch in spots.
Nothing too crazy right now, but enough to cool us off briefly.
Heat Builds Heading Into the Weekend
Before the rain gets here, the heat ramps up.
Here’s how it looks:
Wednesday: Mid 80s
Thursday: Upper 80s
Friday: Near 90 degrees
Saturday: Upper 80s with scattered storms
Sunday: Hot and humid
Next week: Still hot, still humid
And with that humidity climbing, it’s going to feel hotter than the actual temperature.
Heat index values will likely push into the low to mid 90s.
Looking Ahead: July Starts Hot
The Climate Prediction Center continues to signal above-average temperatures as we head into the first week of July.
That means the summer heat isn’t going anywhere.
And honestly, that’s pretty typical for East Tennessee this time of year.
July and August are still ahead of us.
The dog days are coming.
East Tennessee 7-Day Forecast
Wednesday
Mostly sunny
Comfortable
High: 84°
Thursday
Warmer, humidity starts creeping up
High: 88°
Friday
Hot and humid
Scattered storms develop late
High: 89°
Saturday
Scattered showers and storms
High: 88°
Sunday
Hot and muggy
Spotty pop-up storms possible
High: 89°
Monday
Summer heat sticks around
High: 88°
Tuesday
Warm and humid
Isolated storms possible
High: 89°
Bottom Line
Today is another really good weather day.
Low humidity.
Comfortable temperatures.
Light winds.
Filtered sunshine.
It doesn’t get much better than this for late June.
But changes are coming.
Heat builds tomorrow.
Humidity returns Friday.
Storm chances ramp up this weekend.
So soak up the comfortable air while you can.
Because East Tennessee summer is about to remind us who’s boss.
Have a great Wednesday, my friends.
Thanks for checking in this morning, and I’ll see you back here soon.