Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Wisconsin will confront wildfire smoke and extremely high humidity later this week.
Canadian wildfire smoke has already moved into northwest Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan this weekend.
Hazy conditions should reach the Milwaukee area by the late afternoon or early evening July 20, continuing tonight and into tomorrow morning.
“We’ll at least have some overhead smoke,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Denny VanCleve.
There’s a slight chance of storms Tuesday into Wednesday that meteorologists are still timing out, but the big story for the middle of the week is extreme heat and humidity.
The hottest day will be Wednesday, with highs reaching at least the low 90s in Milwaukee. The heat index — or “feels-like” temperature — could reach 100 or even 105.
“Thursday could see those higher temperatures linger before we get a cold front through, later in the week,” VanCleve said.
Southwest winds will keep the cooling breeze from Lake Michigan away, and dew points will be in the 70s.
That heat will be widespread throughout Wisconsin, including up to a 100-degree heat index in Green Bay.
“We’ll have to wait and see what we actually get,” he said.
Tips for staying safe in the heat
Prepare for the extreme heat this week by reviewing advice from the Milwaukee Health Department. Information on designated cooling sites is available here.
Contact Hope Karnopp at HKarnopp@gannett.com or on X at @hopekarnopp.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wildfire smoke returns, plus heat index up to 105 later this week in Wisconsin
Reporting by Hope Karnopp, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
