Western Massachusetts has been stuck in a run of hot, humid weather over the last week. The run continued Wednesday, with temperatures in the 90’s and with the heat index climbing to near 100 degrees.
Emily McMinn is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. She said a moist, tropical airmass has been hovering over the region without much movement.
"We're getting a lot of southerly winds and southwesterly winds off the warm ocean, so that's pushing a lot of that humidity up from the ocean and from southwest of here," McMinn said.
That humidity has contributed to several rounds of heavy thunderstorms over the past week, in some cases causing enough rain to flood streets and cause other dangerous conditions .
As hot as it's been, McMinn said temperatures this summer have yet to reach historic levels.
"We've definitely seen a few more of those 90 degree days in the last several years, but it's not necessarily extremely hot, compared to previous years," she said.
Some relief is on the way. Another round of showers and thunderstorms is due to move through the region on Thursday, and with it, milder temperatures and lower humidity are expected for Friday and Saturday, with highs in the low-to-mid 80’s across western Massachusetts.
The muggy weather also resulted in an air quality alert for Wednesday across much of the region.
