Is It Still Spring Or Has Summer Taken Over?

Good afternoon! It has been a pretty warm weekend filled with mostly sunny skies. We did have a few severe thunderstorms move through later yesterday afternoon, knocking out power for a few thousand in Knoxville and Clinton. Luckily, most of that has been restored. For the remainder of this afternoon, partly cloudy skies with a chance of some pop up showers and storms. This evening and overnight will be the same with a chance of a few isolated storms possible. Looking forward to this week, get ready for a taste of summer. In simple terms this week is going to be HOT. With a strong ridge in place, high pressure will dominate most of the south this week. This will allow for warm temperatures to stick around until at least early next week. To add to the heat, humidity will make a few days feel sticky and that much warmer. Below is a graphic produced from the National Weather Service showing the heat values for this week. 

As you can tell, we will be having some well above average temperatures for quite a few days. To get an idea of the average temperature for this time of the year, the month of May typically averages in the upper 70's near 80 here in east TN. Expectations for this week include high's in the lower 90's from Wednesday of this week until at least Tuesday of next week (the 28th). Due to the temperatures expected over the next week, I am implementing a Secret City Weather HEAT ALERT from Wednesday May 22 to Tuesday May 28th. This is something new I plan to try out for weather events that I deem important. For this case, very warm (above average) temperatures combined with the humidity will make heat indices feel in the mid to even upper 90's a few days this week. A heat alert here at Secret City Weather basically is just advising that temperatures will be well above the average for numerous days and to be cautious of this. Remember your pets and children as temperatures can climb fast in a hot car. Also remember to stay hydrated and take breaks if you plan to be outside for long periods of time. Lastly, to answer your question, no, spring is not over...yet. We just have had a very active season since the start of the year that has contributed to the rain & snow (in the north and mid west) earlier this year, temperatures, and severe weather.
I hope everyone has a good remainder of their Sunday and remember to stay cool & hydrated this week (would be a good week for the lake or pool). Below is a quick guide reminding you the danger of heat in a parked car.