The National Weather Service's Memphis office forecasts yet another stretch of sunny and increasingly hot days ahead for the region. In an easily discerned pattern, temperatures are set to rise steadily through the week, closely approaching the cusp of triple digits by Monday. Under the clear blue of an unblemished sky, today's high is expected to be near 93 degrees, with a southeast wind lightly brushing the skin at 5 to 10 mph.
By nightfall, as those fortunate enough to find themselves beneath the wide expanse of Memphis's sky look up, they will see mostly clear conditions, allowing stars to speckle the night vividly. The low is projected to be around 71 degrees, with the same southeast wind winding down to a subtle caress of around 5 mph. It's easy almost to hear the calm accompanying such evenings, though the slowly rising temperatures are a subtle prelude to the heat soon to intensify.
According to the National Weather Service, the daytime serenity is to persist through the weekend, with sunny skies remaining steadfast and the daily highs holding at 93 and 94 degrees for Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The light south-southeast breeze will continue to stir lightly, offering little relief from the unrelenting warmth of the late summer sun.
Starting Monday, the forecast has it clear that the region will be graced with not just the sun but a heat that can only be described as sweltering. Monday's high will push the thermometers to read near 97 degrees. That heat will only further assert itself into Tuesday, with anticipated highs climbing near 98 degrees. This pattern of clear nights and scorching days is predicted to endure through midweek, suggesting a need to seek shade and solace wherever coolness might be harbored.
Residents looking ahead to the tail end of this sunny spell will find little variation. The overnight lows, slowly inching upwards, are expected to linger in the mid-70s while the daytime temperatures flaunt the summer's reluctance to let go. By next Thursday, while partly cloudy skies may offer a meager reprieve, a high near 96 degrees will remind us that August in Memphis is a season of heat, prolonged by the dance of the sun across the southern sky.
