High heat to persist in the southern US for the first week of June

After the weekend featured a brief break from the heat and humidity across much of the central United States, hot and steamy air will return for much of this week.

A large area of high pressure over the Central states through Monday will shift eastward into the Deep South by Tuesday, allowing southerly winds to return and kick the heat into high gear.

The core of the heat on Tuesday will focus from the western High Plains through the Front Range of the Rockies before shifting into the central and southern Plains spanning Wednesday to Friday.

"High temperatures in many places will peak as much as 15 to 20 degrees above normal," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun said.

Denver is one of the many cities that may set new record-high temperatures this week. The forecast high of 92 on Tuesday would challenge the old record of 94 set over 70 years ago in 1946.

Temperatures are expected to approach or exceed the century mark every afternoon from Tuesday to Friday in both Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas.

Although temperatures should be near the 90-degree Fahrenheit mark in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Rapid City, South Dakota, early this week, cooler air is predicted to make a quick comeback by midweek.

"The heat across the North Central states will be short lived as a storm tracking across southern Canada brings cooler and less humid air for the middle to latter part of the week, along with a couple rounds of strong-to-severe thunderstorms," Rathbun added.

One round of storms may threaten areas from eastern Montana to northern Minnesota with gusty winds, downpours and isolated incidents of hail on Tuesday before another round of storms erupt across the central Plains at midweek.

Yet another round of storms should target the North Central states to end the week. Areas hit repeatedly by heavy storms will be at highest risk for several inches of rain and flash flooding.

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"Although the North Central states are not going to partake in a multi-day heat wave, the South Central states will not receive any relief from this heat wave through the week and possibly into much of next week," Rathbun said.

The combination of heat and humidity will lead to AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures at least 5-10 degrees higher than the actual air temperature.

People spending prolonged time outdoors this week should be sure to drink plenty of fluids in order to stay hydrated and seek shelter in a cool place if signs of heatstroke or heat exhaustion are present. Some of the earliest warning signs of heat-related illnesses include dizziness, nausea, fatigue, headache, muscle cramps and a rapid pulse.

"The hot, dry conditions will also increase the threat for additional wildfires across the region," according to Rathbun.

The Ute Park fire in northeastern New Mexico has already charred over 36,000 acres of land, destroyed over a dozen structures and forced mandatory evacuations in Cimarron and Ute Park.

AccuWeather long-range meteorologists expect the overall weather pattern this summer to continue to favor generally hot and arid conditions in these parts of the nation.