Autumnal Equinox
Sunday, September 13, 2026 · 6:09 PM
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Lyrics
Heat Advisory is in effect for Tuesday for most of Middle Tennessee west of the Cumberland Plateau. Heat indices up to one hundred nine degrees Fahrenheit are expected during the afternoon. Rain chances this week are negligible. The next rain chances aren't expected until the weekend. We should start to see a gradual cool-down late next weekend and early the following week. High pressure re-asserted at the surface and aloft! A broad upper ridge circulating right on top of us! Atmosphere is drier, zero lift, no storm today! Warming into the nineties west of the Plateau! The heat is unrelenting and even warmer days ahead! ONE HUNDRED NINE! ONE HUNDRED NINE! ONE HUNDRED NINE! Underneath the ridge, burning in the heat! Extreme indices baking on the street! Praying for the boundary, waiting for the fall! Autumnal Equinox! CLEAR THE PIT! Heat Advisory issued for Tuesday! One hundred five to one hundred nine across the mid-state! No weather systems to save us! NO RAIN UNTIL THE WEEKEND! ONE HUNDRED NINE! ONE HUNDRED NINE! ONE HUNDRED NINE! Waiting for the cold front... Drop southward to Middle Tennessee... Cool us down... Bring on the first day of autumn!
The forecast discussion
KEY MESSAGES
Updated at 604 PM CDT Sun Sep 13 2026
- Heat Advisory is in effect for Tuesday for most of Middle Tennessee west of the Cumberland Plateau.
Heat indices up to 109F are expected during the afternoon.
- Rain chances this week are negligible.
The next rain chances aren't expected until the weekend.
- We should start to see a gradual cool-down late next weekend and early the following week.
SHORT TERM
(Rest of today through Monday) Issued at 1109 AM CDT Sun Sep 13 2026
High pressure has re-asserted itself at the surface and especially aloft, with a broad upper ridge circulating almost on top of us. So the atmosphere today is much less unstable and also significantly drier, and rain chances are therefore close to zero.
That's the way things are going to remain for awhile.
Meanwhile, the unrelenting heat is...well..unrelenting. Despite a relatively cool start to the day, afternoon temperatures are likely to warm into the low to mid 90s most areas west of the Cumberland Plateau.
And even warmer temperatures are up just ahead.
LONG TERM
(Monday Night through next Sunday) Issued at 1109 AM CDT Sun Sep 13 2026
A Heat Advisory has been issued for Tuesday for most of our non- Plateau counties.
Heat indices are expected to reach or exceed 105F for a large swath of the mid state.
The advisory may need to be extended through Wednesday, but that is much less certain.
So for now, we're focused on Tuesday's excessive heat.
High pressure will keep any weather-producing systems away from the region for most of next week.
The individual model solutions continue to show a surface boundary dropping southward toward Middle Tennessee by week's end, so we are introducing at least low PoPs this weekend and into early next week, with the possibility of a big cold frontal passage right around the time of the autumnal equinox.
Hopefully, this will be the last week for excessive heat.
All indications are that cooler weather is on the way just in time for the first day of autumn.