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The 90s have arrived, and so have high ozone levels.
It doesn’t appear as if either will leave the Charlotte area soon.
Strong high pressure has taken control of weather across much of the eastern United States, and meteorologists don’t see anything that will change conditions soon in the Carolinas.
A tropical weather system could bring heavy rain to Florida and the Gulf Coast in coming days, and much cooler air will spill into the North later this week. But for the Carolinas, it looks like a steady dose of hot, humid weather into next week.
Only the mountains stand much of a chance of getting afternoon and evening thunderstorms.
The temperature reached 91 degrees Tuesday at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, and National Weather Service meteorologists think that will be the start of a string of days with 90-degree highs or hotter.
Highs are forecast to be in the low to mid 90s into the middle of next week.
If anything, the air is more humid across the region Wednesday. Dew point temperatures Tuesday were mostly in the low 60s, which made the 91-degree weather a bit more tolerable. But those dew point readings were 3 to 4 degrees higher Wednesday, putting them into the middle 60s. That will make the humidity noticeable Wednesday afternoon.
Once again, the Charlotte region is under an Air Quality Alert until 9 p.m. due to potentially high ozone levels. This is a Code Orange day, which means people with chronic respiratory problems should use caution in outdoor activities.
An Air Quality Alert also is posted Wednesday for the Hickory area, which was not part of the alert area Tuesday.
That means the following counties are included in the alert: Mecklenburg, Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Rowan and Union.
