Hot, humid weather finally sets in for Lehigh Valley. What, you'd rather have wildfire smoke?

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh Valley is adjusting to a big change in the weather over the last week or so. It’s a warm, sticky sensation that feels overwhelming when you step outside.

Humidity has ramped up in a big way as the region is mired in a prolonged period of unsettled weather. It brings with it a chance for showers and thunderstorms each day.

• Humidity has ramped up in the Lehigh Valley as part of a prolonged period of unsettled weather
• It comes after an unseasonably cool June for the region
• Meteorologists say we're tapping into a southerly flow from the Gulf of Mexico. It means we get a break from wildfire smoke — for now

“I know people are complaining about the humidity, but look, it’s July,” EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said at the top of his Wednesday video outlook.

“Unless you’re new here, this is the norm,” Matrich added, noting this is what the region typically deals with in July and August.

But it’s this or smoke, meteorologist Michael Silva warned Wednesday.

A tradeoff

Silva, who is based out of the National Weather Service forecast office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said the hot and humid conditions follow an unseasonably cool June for the Lehigh Valley and much of the region.

Temperatures averaged almost 4 degrees below the historical average for last month, and included several days where smoke from the Canadian wildfires suffocated the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

But winds have shifted, and Silva said the summertime pattern is finally set up.

“We’ve been tapping into a lot of Gulf moisture as of late and we’ve seen the dewpoints really ramp up. It doesn’t look like it’ll change over the next week or so,” he said Wednesday morning.

“That pattern in June was out of the north and northwest and that kept all the humidity down South. Now, this is probably more of a late August-type pattern as opposed to early July. We’ve tapped into that humidity.”

Humidity is so uncomfortable because it limits the body's ability to cool itself. That can lead to low energy and fatigue and in a worse scenario it can also cause dehydration, cramps, heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

A silver lining

Some parts of the region, including Philadelphia, might be looking at their first heat wave of the year, where temperatures reach or exceed 90 degrees for three or more consecutive days in a row.

But Silva said that won’t be the case in the Lehigh Valley this week.

“You’re looking at highs in the upper 80s to near 90, and the heat index – a combination of heat and humidity – isn’t going to be much more than that,” he said.

“As we go over the next couple of days it does look like there are highs around 90 and a heat index that will be pushed up closer to the mid 90s. People that are prone to health issues are going to want to take some precautions.”

But the Lehigh Valley isn’t looking at excessive heat watches or warnings at this point, he said, with excessive rainfall in some areas likely to be the dominating headlines the next few days.

Any storms that pop up are going to be full of moisture, Silva said, with the ability to drop a significant amount of rain in a short period of time.

Precipitable water values, or PWATs, look to be in excess of two inches for any storms, especially this weekend.