After a brief respite, high temperatures are returning to the area, with little chance of sustained rain relieving the expected highs of nearly 90 degrees.

The summer has already brought high temperatures, with the mean average temperature for July hitting 77.3 degrees at Pittsburgh International Airport, making it the warmest July on record. Records date back to 1952.

Monday set the pace for the week, hitting 89 degrees, and the lowest day temperatures won't bring any relief from the heat until at least Friday when the high is expected to reach 85 degrees, according to the National Weather Service's forecast. Nighttime lows, however, will bring cooler temperatures of around 66 degrees.

But Mike Kennedy, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, noted that the hot temperatures come with the summer.

“We're not far off normal. It is August, after all,” Kennedy said on Monday. “It's a little warm today, but it's a typical summer day.”

To put the forecast into perspective, Kennedy said, the maximum records for this time of year are usually in the upper 90s. And normal temperatures are usually around 82 degrees.

And for Chief Derek Thompson of the East Butler Volunteer Fire Department, the number of brush fires hasn't gone up, and he didn't expect that to happen with the current forecast.

Monday also brought an air quality warning from the state's Department of Environmental Protection. The southwest area, including Butler, was under a code orange air quality alert. It's the second-highest alert, and it means that air pollution concentrations are high enough to pose health risks to sensitive groups such as children, the elderly, and people suffering from health problems like asthma.

Storms possible

As the week continues, Kennedy said a weather front will be moving in Tuesday afternoon and into the evening, bringing possible scattered showers. Kennedy said the front will move to the state's southern border, where it will linger for the week.

“And that opens up the door for more disturbances in the week,” Kennedy said, leaving the possibility of thunderstorms through the week.

“We're just going to be stuck with this weird pattern,” Kennedy said.

That front will also bring with it better air quality as it moves into the area from the Midwest and increases the chances for late day and evening thunderstorm activity, which will disrupt ozone formation, according to the state's Department of Environmental Protection.

Even with the chance of some rain, Kennedy said the season has been noticeably dry, but he said that perspective is partly due to how moist the past two years have been.

“We're still getting above normal for precipitation, but it feels dry because last year and the year before we were so above normal,” Kennedy said. “We're getting less than half an inch cumulative for this week, so not a lot of water overall. People will have to water their garden for sure.”

Farm report

And it's not just gardeners, as corn, soy bean and other farmers dry out, according to state employee Justin Brackenrich, who works as a Penn State Extension agronomy educator based in Butler County.

Brackenrich said earlier this year the weather was warm and dry, leading corn in many places to dry up and become spiky.

“They call it pineapple corn, and it's very telling when it's thirsty,” Brackenrich said.

According to the United States Drought Monitor, the region is suffering from abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions. The designations are the two mildest ones in a five-tiered rating system that goes up to an exceptional drought for the worst cases. Places along the Colorado-New Mexico border are currently suffering under the worst drought conditions, according to the drought monitor.

In the Butler area, farmers gained a little relief in the middle of the summer as the heat wave receded and cooler temperatures returned in late July and early August, according to Brackenrich.

“A few weeks ago we started seeing cooler temperatures. Dew in the morning really helps with crop production,” he said. “Water out of a heavy dew can be really helpful even when it's not raining as much. And cooler temperatures help the dew.”

But with a return to higher temperatures, the dew gets burned away faster in the morning.

“What we generally get concerned about with high temperatures and low rain is the pollination of corn, and if the ears of corn don't develop, nothing develops, so you don't get kernels,” Brackenrich said.

“This week is looking hot and that's my concern this week,” he said.

Along with corn and soy beans, Brackenrich said hay production also suffers from the warmer temperatures. Hay production, Brackenrich said, is made from grass, and the Butler area primarily has cool-season grass, which is sensitive to higher temperatures. Brackenrich said the high temperatures this summer have burned off some of this grass for hay production.

“Those are also cash crops too, even though we don't typically think of that,” Brackenrich said. “We have a huge horse market for hay to Allegheny County. It's a pretty large business that we don't generally think of as a cash crop.”