Lackluster Relief At Best
Friday, August 14, 2026 · 5:26 AM
Lyrics
Dangerous heat is expected through the weekend with triple digit heat indices west of the Cumberland Plateau. There are low thunderstorm chances Friday, mainly east of Interstate sixty-five. Any stronger storm will be capable of producing gusty winds and heavy rain. Slightly drier and hotter conditions are favored this weekend followed by some minor relief early next week. Upper ridge locked over middle Tennessee! Dew points suffocating in the mid-seventies! Highs creeping deep into the nineties, slow storm motion dumping heavy rain! Gusty winds hitting forty miles per hour east of Interstate sixty-five! FORTY MILES PER HOUR! FORTY MILES PER HOUR! FORTY MILES PER HOUR! Triple digit heat indices! One hundred to one hundred ten degrees! The ridge holds us under its weight! Hotter and drier through the weekend, no escape! AN UPPER TROFF TRAVERSES CANADA! A WEAK SURFACE FRONT IS PUSHING IN! TEMPORARY KNOCKBACK! LACKLUSTER RELIEF! ONE HUNDRED TEN! ONE HUNDRED TEN! ONE HUNDRED TEN! Lows in the mid-seventies! It warms right back up for the middle of next week! Lackluster relief!
The forecast discussion
KEY MESSAGES
Updated at 519 AM CDT Fri Aug 14 2026
- Dangerous heat is expected through the weekend with triple digit heat indices west of the Cumberland Plateau.
- There are low thunderstorm chances Friday, mainly east of I-65. Any stronger storm will be capable of producing gusty winds and heavy rain.
- Slightly drier and hotter conditions are favored this weekend followed by some minor relief early next week.
SHORT TERM
(Tonight through Saturday Night) Issued at 1039 PM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
The evening activity has dissipated leaving behind mild conditions for the rest of the night.
Friday will be very similar to today with the upper ridge in place.
Temperatures will top out in the 90s with dew points in the mid 70s.
This will result in dangerous heat with afternoon heat indices in the 100-110 degree range.
There will still be some isolated storm activity during the afternoon.
We saw a couple of storms produce some gusts around 40 mph today and that will once again be possible on Friday.
Slow storm motion and heavy rainfall could lead to some isolated flooding issues as well.
Friday night will be the same story with lows in the low to mid 70s.
Air temperatures will creep up a degree or two on Saturday but heat indices look to remain about the same thanks to dew points being a degree or two lower.
Storm coverage is expected to be lower than Friday.
LONG TERM
(Sunday through next Friday) Issued at 1039 PM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
The heat will continue on Sunday and Monday as the ridge holds.
The upper ridge will get squeezed southward on Monday as an upper trough traverses the southern part of the Canadian provinces.
A weak surface front will push into our area Monday afternoon into Tuesday.
This will do two things: 1) Increase rain and storm chances (20-30%) 2) Temporarily knock temperatures back closer to normal for Tuesday.
Unfortunately, the relief looks lackluster and temporary.
Temperatures will again warm for the middle of next week.