Nighttime Heat Dangers People Overlook

Tired of the heat? We are, too. But changes are on the way for millions.

If you’re in the South, you’re going to want to buckle in for several more days of punishing temperatures.

We do have some good news for those of you in the Midwest and Northeast, though.

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After another spike of summertime heat, a pattern change will usher in a burst of cooler air, setting up a temperature split where the Midwest and Northeast get some much-needed relief while the South continues to swelter.

(TRACK THE HEAT: Temperatures | Heat Index)

Sizzling South

A dome of high pressure will stay parked over the South, sending temperatures soaring to a peak early in the week.

Highs in the 90s will be widespread, with a few places forecast to flirt with the century mark. Atlanta got there on Tuesday afternoon, but that is the last of those temperatures in the Southeast. Temperatures in the Southern Plains will continue to bake with cities like Oklahoma City, Dallas and Houston nearing 100 on Wednesday.

There is some possible light at the end of the tunnel, though.

The cooler air bringing some relief to the Midwest and Northeast midweek could eventually sink farther southward, slowly dropping temperatures in the Southeast states late in the week and into next weekend.

(MORE: Heat Advisories, Warnings Explained)

Relief Ahead For Midwest, Northeast

There’s no better words to hear when you’re heat-weary than “there’s a cooldown ahead.”

And for those of you in the Midwest and Northeast, that is the news we have for you.

High temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s are expected across the region through Wednesday in parts of the Northeast and the immediate Ohio Valley.

By Wednesday, the cooler air will push south into the cornbelt and much of the Great Lakes before settling in across the Northeast by Thursday.

Widespread temperatures in the mid to upper 70s will be a welcome reprieve, with some places dropping 10 to 20 degrees in a span of only a few days.

(MORE: Why Warm Nighttime Temperatures Are Just As Dangerous)

Taking a peek even further into August, the cooler-than-average temperatures are expected to wither away and eventually give way to a return to summerlike temps.

Enjoy those elusive summertime 70s while you can because we still have a chunk of summer heat ahead of us.

(MAPS: 10-Day US Forecast Highs and Lows)

Caitlin Kaiser graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with both an undergraduate and graduate degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences before starting her career as a digital meteorologist with weather.com.