The weather story this week won’t surprise anyone, highlighted by high heat and humidity that’s ever-present. On Monday, the heat index surged (again) above 100º. That’s the so-called feels-like temperature with humidity. Here’s a check on the peak values leading to our steamy afternoo n. The only way we can get “brief relief” from the summer swelter is from occasional times of rain. Recently, those heavy downpours were centered over interior areas of south Florida extending to SW parts of the state. The image above was taken during the early evening (Monday) as most of the storms were either fading or drifting towards the Gulf coast. So, “what’s next” as we head into the midweek? The only change is a minor one and something that will probably filter our sunshine! Here’s a recent image of light Saharan Dust entering the region. It’s expected to slowly move into the Keys, then over the south Florida mainland, with a layer of haze. We see these episodes (of Dust) every season and they come with both Pro’s and Con’s. The most notable advantage is that it suppresses tropical activity. However, it has some Less popular effects, too. Depending on the dust depth, it can lower visibility and dim the sun, even cause respiratory issues for people with allergies (and other health-challenging effects). This initial batch of Dust is set to arrive Tuesday but far from a blockbuster episode, at least in the short term. You’ll probably detect some haze due to this spread of the high level dust. It’s worth noting that during the late week, a separate and stronger dust plume could reach us. There’s no guarantee whether it stays “intact on the track” but we think so, at this early point. Saharan Dust won’t temper the heat and there’s proof in the forecast (below) how temperature highs remain stifling. The current forecast calls for hot and hazy days with dust effects making for more of a challenge in developing rain and storms. Any activity should be fairly isolated, although slow-moving due to the light wind flow. ...read more read less