More 100-Degree Temperatures Across the Midwest

This article was provided by AccuWeather.com.

Record heat is expected once again across the Midwest this week. St. Louis will have another string of four or five days in a row with 100-degree high temperatures.

The surge of heat will even bring Chicago back to near 100 degrees on Monday. An interesting note on Chicago, the city may reach the all time record of consecutive days with high temperatures at or above 80 degrees. They have seen 27 days in a row through Sunday. The record is 46, set just two years ago in 2010.

There is an excessive heat warning in effect for St. Louis all the way through Thursday. It will likely not even drop below 80 degrees at night through Wednesday night. When it does not cool off at night, heat waves become very dangerous.

St. Louis has already hit the century mark 10 times this month alone. The last three days of June were also above 100 degrees. According to the National Weather Service in Saint Louis, Mo., the record number of days in a year with 100-degree high temperatures is 37 set in 1936. The second-most 100-degree days was 29 in 1934. Again, the count for 2012 stands at 13.

Below is a table for the expected high temperatures over the next few days for selected cities.

It seems we have been tracking a core of heat all summer. In the past few days, the core of this heat has been across the central Plains. Just yesterday, Lawton, Okla., hit 111 degrees. Wichita Falls, Texas, hit 111 as well.

This heat will shift eastward as the jet stream repositions. The core of the heat will shift back to the west towards the Rockies by the end of the week.

This is just more bad news for the major crop areas of the U.S. As the drought continues, 100 degree heat will further stress crops and likely send commodity prices even higher.

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