Strong storms are possible Sunday, along with heat indexes over 100, weather service says

In what may be a “quite active” and uncomfortable Sunday in the Philly region, strong thunderstorms are possible, along with heat indexes in the triple digits, the National Weather Service says.

The government’s Storm Prediction Center had Philly and its neighboring Pennsylvania counties under a severe thunderstorm watch Saturday night; however, the storms evidently had spent their ferocity well to the west of the city.

Forecasters warned that the atmosphere would remain volatile and well-juiced on Sunday.

All that moisture in the air is forecast to make it quite uncomfortable, even if clouds keep temperatures from poking into the 90s, forecasters said.

But better days are coming, as soon as Monday.

Monday, Tuesday and perhaps even Wednesday are expected to be dry, gorgeous, and temperate, with highs in the 80s, said Sarah Johnson, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

But this being summer, and this being Philly, heat and humidity are forecast to arrive “just in time” for the July Fourth celebration, she said. While it may be uncomfortable, she said, it won’t be the intensity of the heat during the hot spell that ended Monday.

Beyond next week, the government’s Climate Prediction Center is calling for above-normal temperatures through July 12, with the odds favoring above-normal warmth through the summer.

A severe-thunderstorm warning was in effect Saturday night for parts of Montgomery and Bucks Counties, and a storm watch was up until 11 p.m. for Philadelphia and its neighboring Pennsylvania counties, the weather service said.

Shortly before 8:30, the weather service said that a storm capable of generating gusts to 60 mph was expected to affect northern Montgomery and central Bucks Counties, including Pottstown, Doylestown, and Schwenksville, said forecasters in the Mount Holly office.

Storms were likely on what may be a “quite active” Sunday in the Philly region, the agency said, adding that a heat advisory was in effect for heat indexes in triple digits.

All the moisture in the air is forecast to make it quite uncomfortable, even if clouds keep temperatures from poking into the 90s, forecasters said.