Summer arrives and the heat goes on

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Summer arrived Monday morning with the same muggy heat that Atlantans have grown accustomed to over the past couple weeks.

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Chris Dunn, cdunn@ajc.com Ross Lanning performs a few tricks at the Brook Run Skate Park on Monday, June 21, 2010. Called "the newest and best skatepark in Atlanta" by SkateBoardPark.com, the park is now under the jurisdiction of the city of Dunwoody, not Dekalb County.

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Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com 090918 Duluth - Detroit Shock forward # 44 Taj McWilliams battles Atlanta Dream # 22 Armintie Price for a rebound that resulted in a jump ball during 2nd half action at the Gwinnett Arena in Duluth, Friday, Sept. 18, 2009. Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com

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Bob Andres bandres@ajc.com 100621 - Marietta - Jose Quinones works up a sweat as he performs utility work along Shallowford Rd. in Marietta. Temperatures were in the 90's, but with lower humidity than it has been. Mon, June 21, 2010 Bob Andres bandres@ajc.com

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The summer solstice occurred at 7:28 a.m. and by 10 a.m. the temperature had already risen to 85 degrees. Monday is the longest day of the year in terms of daylight and the days will gradually grow shorter until the winter solstice on Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year.

Those who felt cheated by a seemingly short spring will take little solace in the forecast for the week:

"It's basically going to be more of the same for the next several days: hot and muggy," WSB-TV meteorologist Brad Nitz told the AJC. He's predicting a high of 94 degrees Monday. And the heat index, which is a function of the humidity, will again be pushing 100, he said.

Nitz expects it to be like that all week, until Friday when he is giving a 60 percent chance for storms. The cold front driving the rain then could knock down temperatures a whopping two or three degrees, meaning a high of only 92 on Friday, he said.

The forecast includes a 20 percent chance of rain until Friday, so there could be isolated bouts of lightning, hail and gusty winds, Nitz said.

Mostly, though, it's just going to be hot and humid.

It's going to feel like summer.