A majority of the country has spent the last month sticky and sweaty thanks to unrelenting humidity which has set records in some states.
July’s humidity was worse than usual for huge swaths of the continental U.S., which will not be surprising for Americans living in much of the Midwest, East Coast, and the mid-Atlantic regions, where the humidity was particularly high according to research from Oregon State University.
Humidity is not unusual in the summer, but the “real feel” heat index — which combines temperature and humidity — spent days in the triple digits and set records in states including Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Florida throughout July.
The humidity was so brutal that numerous cities — including Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, and Roanoke — broke records for the most humid days in their histories, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet, which tracks data on precipitation, soil temperatures, and other environmental data.
On Thursday, a Kentucky branch of the National Weather Service noted that Paducah, Kentucky endured the “longest stretch of continuously high humidity” the city had seen in 75 years. According to the NWS, the number of hours of extreme humidity in the city was 300 percent more than its usual amount for the month of July.
The elephant in the room is climate change, driven by human burning of fossil fuels. As the climate continues to shift due to our past and present actions, higher temperatures and worse humidity will become the norm.
That will inevitably pose a risk to health and safety. Where once an air conditioner breaking down was an inconvenience it could now pose serious health risks.
Heat-related illnesses will become more common, putting especially the very young, very old, and those with medical conditions at risk.
“In many parts of the country and the globe, dangerous heat often occurs along with high humidity — and the pair of conditions multiplies the health risks,” a 2022 study by Climate Central determined, noting that humidity can impair the body’s ability to cool itself via sweat.
At least for some parts of the country, early August should bring some much needed relief from the brutal July humidity assault, even if it doesn’t last long.
The Washington Post predicts near to above average temperatures during August for the nation’s capital, with temperatures only rising around two degrees Fahrenheit over the norm of just under 80 degrees.
Meteorologists at WTHR predict a fairly normal August for Indiana, and PennLive reports that similar cooling can be expected throughout central Pennsylvania, at least for the first several days of August. Kentucky will also benefit from cooling as August sets in, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The cool temperatures kicking off August are thanks to a high pressure system in Canada forcing cooler air down into the central and eastern U.S., according to CNN meteorologist Mary Gilbert.
“It isn’t unheard of to have a handful of cooler days in the latter part of summer, but the upcoming change will feel especially jarring given how hot previous weeks have been,” she said.
She warned that the cooling comes with a cost — an increase in storms and thunderstorms, which are likely to cause flash floods in some parts of the country.
Gilbert also warned the cooling will only last a few days, and that August is likely to be hot for much of the country, approximately one to two degrees above the norm.
