Hot weather is going to stick around
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 years, 8 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | July 16, 2018 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The current heat wave is forecast to last through at least Wednesday or Thursday, with temperatures 95 degree-plus.
Not a heat wave. Just hot weather.
No, really. Not a heat wave. The National Weather Service has an actual definition for a heat wave, and a week or so of hot weather isn’t it. A real, NWS-style heat wave is all about the humidity.
“It’s based on the heat index, or the apparent temperature,” said Mark Turner, meteorologist for the NWS Spokane office. The heat index measures the humidity as well as the actual air temperature to come up with the heat index.
So that old joke about it being a dry heat? That really does make a difference, at least in terms of a heat wave.
So. In north central Washington it’s just hot. And it's going to say hot for a few more days.
That’s the good news. The last couple days are just above-average temperatures for mid-July; the average is 89 degrees.
There is bad news. It hasn’t cooled down much at night, and it’s not going to. Overnight lows will remain at about 60 degrees, Turner said.
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