Heat wave in region

Summer's official arrival brought with it the first heat wave of the year in the region.

Sunday, June 21, was the first day of summer. By Sunday, the first heat wave had settled in, with high temperatures climbing well into the 90s.

Highs in the 90s were in the forecast  for all of this week in the area.

The website for the National Weather Service, NWS, in Paducah noted that there is "no universally agreed upon definition of a heat wave. What constitutes a heat wave may vary from one part of the world to the next."

For most of the United States, NWS reported that the "standard" definition of a heat wave is "three or more consecutive days of highs reaching at least 90 degrees."

High temperatures in Union County reached 90 degrees or higher for seven consecutive days starting on June 17. The high for the week was 94 degrees.

The normal high, based on data from 1970 to 2000, at Paducah is 89 degrees from July 13 to Aug. 6.

The summer heat is expected to continue, at least through next Monday.

Precipitation for the past week in Union County was light, with a trace recorded June 17 and .07 of an inch June 21.

Following are temperatures for the period as recorded by official weather observer Dana Cross in Anna:

                H    L

Wednesday, June 17   92   67

Thursday, June 18      91   74

Friday, June 19           92   75

Saturday, June 20       90   74

Sunday, June 21          93  72

Monday, June 22        94   73

Tuesday, June 23        94   71