The National Weather Service in Memphis has issued a statement that reads like a grim forecast for a sweltering Independence Day. Residents in East Arkansas, North Mississippi, Southeast Missouri, and West Tennessee are expected to grapple with dangerously hot conditions with heat index values up to 113 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
As the heat wave intensifies, there's a chance of showers and thunderstorms, particularly between 4 pm and 5 pm today, with a sixty percent chance of precipitation overnight. The NWS cautions that new rainfall amounts will be between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, stepping up to higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. For those of you planning your backyard barbecues, consider that a soggy burger might be the least of your worries if severe weather decides to crash the party.
Moving beyond our day of independence, the extended forecast doesn't offer much respite from the meteorological misery. Even as Friday brings chances of showers and thunderstorms before 7 am and then likely between 7 am and 1 pm, the sun insists on its tyranny with a high nearing 90 degrees. The weekend continues this trend with sunny skies and peak temperatures flirting with the nineties. Prudent residents should keep their fans on standby and their freezers stocked with as much ice as they can hold – because it seems Mother Nature has decided that fireworks won't be the only thing heating the skies this July.
