[July 20, 2011] Another triple-digit day sizzles through North Texas Tweet Jul 19, 2011 (The Dallas Morning News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- With each torrid day that passes, the Dallas area climbs another spot in the record book -- now ninth after 17 consecutive days of 100-degree heat as of Monday and possibly more on the way. But this heat spell is more a hit-or-miss thing for the next day or two, with the center of the high pressure ridge that usually drapes across Texas sitting a few states to the north. That allows at least a bit of tropical moisture to blow in from the east, and with it, a chance of showers. "Tuesday, maybe into Wednesday, we could see similar patterns," said Eric Martello, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. "Temperatures aren't quite as warm as they've been. We're seeing a few more clouds, especially to the east." Unfortunately, this is strictly a temporary situation, Martello said. "The high pressure ridge will gradually shift south later in the week, and we'll be warmer and drier," he said, "and we'll be back over 100 Wednesday to Friday." Actually, the weather service's forecast for Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport -- the region's weather station of record -- calls for temperatures of 100 or 101 each day through next Monday, with lows falling only to the low 80s. If that holds true, the July heat wave would move up from ninth to fourth (with 24 days) on the list of consecutive 100-degree days. The relentless heat has led the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to issue Level Orange alerts most days this month -- "unhealthy for sensitive groups" -- even though the air quality has mostly remained in the good or moderate level. The temperatures also have placed a load on electric providers and the state's power grid. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the flow of power to about 85 percent of the state's population and 75 percent of its area, issued a plea to conserve power late last week. So far, though, usage hasn't forced rolling blackouts to deal with demand. Oncor, the electric provider in most of the Dallas area, did report some blackouts during the weekend in Rowlett. But the outages stemmed from equipment breakdowns, not extremely high demand, spokeswoman Ashley Burton said. "We were always under normal operations," Burton said. Likewise, Dallas' Water Conservation Division reported no unusual problems, even with homeowners using sprinkler systems regularly to keep their yards in shape despite the heat. The city's code compliance office was checking on watering violations but did not provide a number Monday. Water conservation manager Carole Davis said she didn't expect a rash of problems. "People are pretty well educated on the times they should be sprinkling," Davis said. Watering restrictions are in place between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., during the worst heat of the day. The only hint of cooler weather in the long-range forecast could come next week, and even that's a long shot, said Martello of the weather service. "The high could move farther to the west," he said, enabling a weak system in the Pacific Northwest to wrap around the high and bring a rare summer cold front to North Texas. "One [computer] model indicates that, but another doesn't show it at all," Martello said. "So there's a lot of uncertainty. Right now, our confidence is low." Here's a look at the longest consecutive streaks of 100-degree temperatures in Dallas-Fort Worth. 1. 42 days, June 23-Aug. 3, 1980 2. 29 days, July 6-Aug. 3, 1998 3. 25 days, Aug. 2-26, 1952 4. 24 days, July 28-Aug. 20, 1999 5. 20 days, July 9-28, 1954 6. 19 days, Aug. 8-26, 2006 7. 18 days, July 31-Aug. 17, 2010 18 days, July 2-19, 1978 9. 17 days, Aug. 2-18, 1956 17 days, July 2-18, 2011-- --Still active SOURCE: National Weather Service To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]