We escaped July with a break from the typical Arklahoma heat and humidity, largely because of the upper level pattern that included several cut-off lows. With that being said, temperatures for July ran between 3 and 4 degrees below average, and rainfall was largely above average all across our area. That's pretty substantial, but our luck may be running out.

We're now working into a weather pattern that features a broad ridge of high pressure anchored over the central plains. Some of the warmest 850 temperatures aloft will build across our area through the weekend into early next week. Unfortunately, as the 850 air mass warms, our winds at that same level will turn more southerly. 850 mb wind flow helps us determine if our air will become dry or moist.

Look at the GFS depiction for next Tuesday. 850 temperatures warm to 22 degrees Celsius, and notice the winds, southerly off the Gulf of Mexico. Combine surface temperatures in the 90s with deep moisture, and you have heat index values from 95 to 105 degrees! This type of heat can be very dangerous, so keep that in your mind as we go throughout the next 7 days!