Heat record set, advisory extended in South Mississippi

Balmy nights and sweltering days have led to a heat record not just for South Mississippi, but for New Orleans and Baton Rouge, too.

Temperature gauges at all three cities’ airports registered the highest low temperature recorded for any July 5, the National Weather Service reports.

In other words, the heat is lingering long after the sun goes down.

At 6:53 a.m. Tuesday, the gauge at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport registered a not-so-cool 83 degrees, breaking the previous record of 78 degrees in 2009. The record has been tracked since 2000.

High overnight temperatures make a heat wave especially unbearable, with little relief from heat and humidity. It’s one of the criteria the weather service uses for advisories, issuing one when the heat index does not fall below 75 nightly; reaches 105 for two hours; or reaches 108 at any point.

The weather service has extended the heat advisory it had issued Monday until 7 p.m. Thursday.

Heat indexes above 105 are again possible Thursday, and the rest of the week isn’t expected to bring much relief.

The advisory covers only Harrison, Hancock and Pearl River counties on the Coast, but most of eastern Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and east Texas also have advisories. And that doesn’t mean Jackson County residents will fare any better.

“Bottom line it’s gonna be hot,” meteorologist Andrew Ansorge said.

Highs in the low to mid-90s are forecast through the weekend, with lows struggling to get below 80. And heavy moisture in the air will keep a 20 percent chance of afternoon storms for the near future.

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Heat record set, advisory extended in South Mississippi."