Yesterday I mentioned the possibility of an MCS or Derecho forming along the boundary between June and near-record heat across the Great Lakes. An MCS did form and terrorized Chicago last evening! If your flights were screwed up last night and/or are still screwed up today, maybe the 84 MPH winds that clocked O’Hare Airport in Chicago had something to do with it… Maybe… That MCS rolled east and south through Indiana into Ohio and Pennsylvania as predicted. What wasn’t predicted was the HARD RIGHT the storms took when they got to the Appalachians east of Pittsburgh. That will ruin some 100 F chances in the Carolinas today. Otherwise, the heat dome is in full effect in Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley, and Tennessee Valley, especially from Nashville westbound. Here 100+ is almost a guarantee.

In places like Columbia, Augusta, Athens, and Raleigh, you’ll see the best chance of 100+ temperatures. Same for Louisville, Evansville, Paducah, Nashville, and Memphis. These areas today and tomorrow will be under the greatest threat. While I expect Charlotte and Greenville to just miss 100 due to the dying MCS blowing overhead today, we won’t be as lucky tomorrow.

Keep a sharp eye on where exactly the heat dome is. On the edges of it, the “ring of fire” will be in full effect with severe thunderstorms, high winds, and the possibility of an MCS and/or a Derecho forming along this boundary. The chances of this increase over the next few days, peaking this weekend across the Northeast, Great Lakes, and the Mid-Atlantic states. The heat dome reloads next week over the same areas seeing the heat now. So after a little bit of a break this Father’s Day Weekend, there will be a “ROUND 2” next week of the heatwave. Hoping this doesn’t become like 1988 or 1995 or 2012 to where the heat just goes on for weeks and weeks without end.