Will we get a break from the heat, humidity in Fort Worth? This is how long it could last
An excessive heat warning over Fort Worth is set to expire Wednesday night, but it won’t be the last time residents feel the steamy weather.
Despite the excessive heat warnings, temperatures in North Texas have not reached record highs. If the weather has felt unseasonably hot this week, blame it on the dew point.
The higher the dew point, the greater amount of moisture is in the air, according to the National Weather Service. Moisture traps heat, which is what contributes to the humidity in the area.
Southern winds moving moisture from the Gulf of Mexico over North Texas caused the dew point in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to increase around June 15 and 16.
Hunter Reeves, National Weather Service meteorologist, said once that weather pattern gets set, it’s really hard to break it.
“It’s almost like the atmosphere kind of gets stagnant, it gets stuck in that pattern,” he said. “The only type of real relief we could get is a cold front and we don’t really get those in the summer here.”
Cold fronts don’t typically happen until October or November, he said. Until then, the heat and humidity could be here to stay.
Rainfall also helps relieve some of the heat.
Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are forecast in the area Wednesday night which could provide some relief before going back up over the weekend.
Storms developing west and moving east could bring damaging winds, hail and lightning, according to National Weather Service forecasts.
This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 11:05 AM.
