Labor Day brings a break in the extreme heat, but more is on tap next week

(NOTE: Thursday marked the 20th day this year we have reached a heat index of at least 105 degrees in Paducah. This tied for the 2nd most on record with 1989, only behind the 23 days we had in 1988. Today -- Friday -- makes it 21, and Saturday will be 22. The record could still be in reach, as more triple-digit heat indices are on tap next week.)

After a temperature of 99 degrees today at Barkley Airport, the National Weather Service says we'll have one more day just like it on Saturday.

The final day of the extreme heat warning for the entire region will bring another high at or near 100, with a heat index around 110. 

Widely scattered showers and storms will be possible mainly over the Evansville Tri State and the Pennyrile region of western Kentucky Saturday afternoon. Little relief from the heat is expected, with only about a tenth of an inch where isolated showers and thunderstorms occur.

The prolonged heat could start to crack Sunday with a high of "only" 96. (Paducah's usual historical daily high for the first week of September is 86.)

Labor Day will be the choice day of the weekend, with highs in the lower 90s, much less humidity, and even a light northeast wind. The relative cool down will be short-lived, as triple digit heat indices return for much of the Quad State Tuesday through Thursday.