Concord may not break pure temperature records for the next few days as the Heat Dome arrives (although we might, it’s close) but it will probably be more miserable than ever before and for a longer stretch.
The record high temperature for Concord for June 18 through 21 according to the National Weather Service database (here) over the last 155 years, is 98 degrees F. At the moment the forecast high for the next few days is 96 degrees. NOTE: Since I wrote that, NWS updated forecasts and says it will hit 98 on Thursday.
What this doesn’t include, however, is humidity. The amount of moisture in the air is expected to be high as well, making the temperature “feel like” more than 100.
Just as important is the length of the heat wave. I don’t know that there has ever been a stretch of four days over 95 degrees in Concord, as is expected this week. Accumulated heat over multiple days can be a real killer, quite literally. Medical officials are worried abut what will happen with shut-ins who lack air conditioning as well as the homeless.
Electric utilities are worried, too, and are asking people to conserve power as much as possible.
(FYI, the all-time high temp measured at Concord airport, the state’s official site, is 103 on Aug. 2, 1975.)
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