Students are feeling the heat now, but they might want to bring umbrellas to class Thursday.

NIU meteorologist Brendon Larson said this week’s heat wave- which shot mercury up to 95 degrees Monday afternoon- is a result of a build-up of high pressure systems after the wetter-than-normal summer.

“The temperatures are above normal, but not unusual” for this time of year, Larson said. There were only only five or six hot days with temperatures climbing past the 90 degree mark this summer, he said.

And Joe Librizzi, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Rockford, also said there is “nothing abnormal” about the heat, even though the temperatures are somewhat above the normal of about 80 degrees.

The humidity hanging in the air stems from the tropical southern air, he said.

Librizzi said the Northern Illinois area should experience a cold front today or Wednesday, bringing some rain.

There should be “radical changes in the weather by Thursday” with temperatures in the mid-70’s lasting for most of the Labor Day weekend, Larson said. But temperatures should be back to normal by the time students return to classes on Monday, he said.

Larson also said the cold front will bring potentially severe thunderstorms to most of the area. However, he said there is no threat of tornados touching down in Northern Illinois.

The rest of the summer and all of the fall season should have “near normal temperatures and precipitation,” Larson said. ///e said the weather should not be any “cooler, warmer, wetter or dryer” than it has been in the past.