7/19/11 – A 141-year-old heat record was broken in Madison yesterday. The overnight low was 77 in the Capital City, breaking the record for the date of 76 in 1870. It’s hot everywhere in Wisconsin, but the rolling hills of the southwest are really getting baked. The heat index was 127 near Prairie du Chien yesterday – eight-points warmer than the state’s high on Sunday. It was still 89-degrees in Beaver Dam around 6:30 last night but it felt like 109-degrees. It was even warmer in Watertown at the same time where the temperature was 94-degrees but with the heat index it felt like 121-degrees. Experts say Wisconsin is covered under a large heat mass that’s not going anywhere for a couple more days. The heat index will go back into the triple-digits today in much of the state. Actual highs are expected in the upper-80’s and 90’s. Some big storm systems continue to pop up from time-to-time. Sheet metal from a building was tossed through the air last night at Brandon in Fond du Lac County. New London had hail, and winds in the region hit 50-miles-an-hour. We remain under an Excessive Heat Warning until Thursday night.
