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July 2, 2009

Fourth weather prediction: Air you can wear

By Darragh Doiron

The News staff writer

The guests at Fourth of July parties may be as sweaty as their lemonade glasses thanks to high humidity that a meteorologists calls “air you can wear.”

Jim Sweeney of the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, La., says humidity values should be on the increase because of a high from the western Atlantic, a “Bermuda Ridge.”

“It’s going to be building and when that happens, it increases our southerly winds, picking up that rich Gulf moisture,” Sweeney said.

The Independence Day forecast is for a mostly sunny day with a high of 96 and a low of 77. The Fourth of July evening should be mostly clear, offering a good view of fireworks. Sunday should be just as warm, but with a 20 percent chance of precipitation.

“This is an unusually warm July. We really got started on the summer heat,” Sweeney said.

The heat may creep up on back-yard picnic-goers who usually stay indoors. They may not have realized how blistering the season has been, he said.

“If they were smart, they stayed around the air conditioner,” he said.

People should pace themselves and take in plenty of fluids, Sweeney said.

He said he takes 20-minute breaks from his yard work.

The predicted 20 percent chance of rain for Monday and 30 percent for Tuesday are normal for the season, which has been dry, he said.

The Fourth of July evening should be mostly clear, offering a good view of fireworks.

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