Sun

VALDOSTA — South Georgians should get ready to scorch this week as high temperatures reach the low 100s.

The National Weather Service forecast for Valdosta shows daytime highs reaching 102 degrees Wednesday and 103 degrees Thursday.

The cause of the baking heat is a high-pressure system over the region sliding east toward the Atlantic Ocean, said Joe Curtis, a meteorologist with the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.

Winds out of the north will bring dry air to the region, not moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, said Molly Merrifield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee, Fla., office.

The dry air will heat up more efficiently, leaving South Georgia to “bake under the sun,” she said.

The expected temperatures are far above the normal average of 91 degrees for Valdosta for this time of year, Curtis said.

He said AccuWeather did not have reports for record highs for Valdosta but various online weather sources, including exteremeweatherwatch.com, suggest the Azalea City’s hottest day on record was July 1, 1911, at 107 degrees. More recently, Valdosta sizzled at 106 degrees on June 15, 2011.

Weather service forecasts call for Valdosta to “cool down” to the lower 90s during the weekend as rain chances climb to 40%, Merrifield said.

Neither forecaster saw any real chance of severe weather in South Georgia this week.