Tracking stagnant heat all week, little to no rainfall

TONIGHT: Mostly clear and warm with lows in the lower 70s.

TOMORROW: Mostly sunny and very hot with highs in the upper 90s. Heat index values around 100-102.

EXTENDED: Prolonged heat continues across the region as high pressure centered just to our south is locked in by two areas of low pressure across the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast. The jet stream is just to our north, so rain chances are looking very minimal for the next several days, with any meaningful rain staying to our north. As we're past peak evapotranspiration for our local crops, dew points won't be quite as high as our previous heat wave with slightly drier air in place. In turn, heat index values largely look to stay below our Weather Alert Day criteria, but are still expected to reach or top 100 degrees. We likely won't see much relief at night either, with lows remaining in the upper 70s. Record warm lows could be threatened the next several nights. By the weekend, the upper high pressure system may begin slowly retrograding back to the west, putting us right along the eastern edge and opening the door to at least slight rain chances between Saturday and Sunday, especially in eastern Missouri. Labor Day weekend looks warm with highs in the upper 80s to low 90s. The overall pattern continues to trend warmer than average into the second full week of September.