CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Go ahead and crank your A/C because it's scorching in the Charlotte area.
On Memorial Day, Chief meteorologist Brad Panovich said there are signs that the weather starts to cool down a bit with highs just above average and not 10-15 degrees above in the coming days. Panovich said we could see a high of 85 degrees at the end of the week on Saturday and Sunday.
The heat wave continues into Tuesday, though, with highs climbing back into the middle 90s. We'll challenge the record high once again. The record on Tuesday is 97 degrees and the record Wednesday is 98 degrees.
This past weekend, Sunday marked three straight days of 94 degrees or higher in Charlotte. Panovich says Charlotte's longest streak of that last year was four straight days, and that was in the middle of June.
Meteorologist Iisha Scott said May 2019 will likely be in the top five for warmest Mays on record by the end of the month.
"For May standards, this is crazy heat. These could be the hottest temperatures ever," Panovich said. "The warmest it's been in Charlotte since 1953 if we get to 96, 97 would be the hottest since the 1940s. We haven't been to 95 degrees since 2011, the only time in 16 years I've been here that it's been that hot in the month of May.
"If this was the middle of summer, this would be a typical heatwave. But to put it in perspective, if we had this departure from the average high in summer, it's the equivalent of 105 or 108. The all-time record in Charlotte is 104 degrees."
Mecklenburg EMS responded to 15 heat-related calls Saturday, five of those came from the Speed Street festival in uptown.
Since high temperatures have been recorded in Charlotte, only 13 percent of years have ever seen a temperature above 95 degrees. So this is really abnormal compared to the average high of 80 for this time of year.
So how long will the heatwave last?
Through at least most of this week. Panovich said there's a chance for some relief at the end of the week. Panovich said we could see some temperatures back in the 80s. Panovich said a typical May heatwave pushes close to 90 degrees, far below these expected highs.
"This is going to be a May to remember," Panovich said. "Unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons."
And remember, don't leave your pets or children in a car for any period of time in this heat. At 95 degrees, the inside of a car could reach well over 110 degrees in just 10 minutes.
