Heat index & wild changes to end July

We had a discussion on Tuesday in the newsroom about heat index and someone asked how it's calculated. If you're like me, math was never a strong subject for you. I struggled a lot in school with all of the calculus involved in meteorology, but found a way to get through. This is the equation for figuring heat index. Next time we show it on TV, you can appreciate the computers that calculate it for us and we just display the end result.

HI = -42.379 + 2.04901523*T + 10.14333127*RH - .22475541*T*RH - .00683783*T*T - .05481717*RH*RH + .00122874*T*T*RH + .00085282*T*RH*RH - .00000199*T*T*RH*RH

Temperatures at 5 p.m. Thursday. Hottest weather behind a warm front in western Kansas

A warm front is going to push into western Kansas this afternoon and behind it, that's where I expect temperatures will hit 100. The wind is also going to be a bit stronger.

The hot weather overspreads the state on Friday

The hottest air will push east on Friday, so more locations will be hitting 100 in the afternoon. Once again, I expect the wind to be stronger for central and eastern Kansas.

We still have our eyes on much cooler air for next week. The front will come through Sunday morning, and temperatures start backing down in the afternoon. Most of us will still have 90s at the end of the weekend. But look what happens next week with our high temperatures. We are headed for 70s and 80s around the state, and some of this will depend on rain and cloud cover too.

Forecast for temperatures next Tuesday (July 29) Another unbelievable cool spell is headed this way

Looking for some much needed moisture? Based on what the computer models are showing, the best chances will be coming through Tuesday and Wednesday of next week with the heaviest of the rainfall likely in the west. Look for an update Friday morning. Have a good day.

Rainfall forecast from today - next Thursday (July 31)