High pressure ridging overhead is going to keep thunderstorm chances low and temperatures up for Friday and the weekend. Couple that with a side of Saharan dust advecting in from the southwest and we’ll have a few hot, hazy, and humid days ahead. In fact, during the afternoons, heat indices may approach the upper 90s to around 100 at times, so be sure you’re getting hydration if you are outdoors. A stray thunderstorm or two will be possible Friday and Saturday afternoon, with a tighter lid on potential storms for Sunday (as things stand right now, anyway).

Sunsets could be particularly colorful Saturday and Sunday night, as NASA dust modeling suggests peak Saharan dust activity around these times. It remains to be seen what, if any, air quality impacts there will be, but we’ll want to keep an eye on that for sensitive groups, especially with our recent acceleration in coronavirus cases aggravating respiratory matters.