The Inter-Mountain photo by Megan Ingraham Local youth Brandon Simmons, Bradley and Liam Close beat the summer heat playing at the Randolph County Community Pool & Splashpad.

ELKINS – Temperatures are expected to climb into the 90s for the next several days for most of the state, including the immediate Elkins area.

The National Weather Service in Charleston issued a heat advisory for West Virginia on Tuesday that will last until 10 p.m. on July 3. High temperatures during this time are expected to reach the upper 90s near 100 degrees.

“The heat started to come in on Tuesday and it looks like it will peak on Wednesday and Thursday with those two days being the warmest across Northeast West Virginia,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Megan Kiebler. “Even heading into the end of the work week and into the start of the holiday weekend, we are going to stay very warm for this time of year.”

Kiebler said the extreme heat is being caused by high pressure that is just sitting in one spot.

“There’s a wide area of high pressure that has settled in right over the Tennessee and Mississippi Valley and it’s really not moving anywhere,” Kiebler said. “That allows a lot of moisture to ride up from the southeast portions of the country and that attracts that warm and muggy atmosphere that we are going to be pretty much sitting in for the next several days, without any strong weather maker out West to kind of push the high pressure along. We are pretty much going to be rooted in this very hot and humid atmosphere until at least the end of the weekend.”

Kiebler said the temperatures during the upcoming days may feel hotter than they actually are.

“We are forecasting temperatures in the Elkins area in the mid 90s, but with humidity that’s going to make it feel closer to 100 degrees,” Kiebler said. “It is going to be like that each afternoon and into the evening with very little relief during the overnight hours as well.”

Randolph County Office of Emergency Management director Mike Miller said that people just need to use common sense when dealing with very hot and humid temperatures.

“People need to drink water, stay hydrated, and make sure they are careful when going outdoors in this type of weather,” Miller said. “Folks need to keep an eye on each other while outside in the heat. They also need to check on the elderly and those with disabilities to make sure they have everything they need and they are staying cool.”

Miller said that if something would occur where power was lost in the area, the Randolph County OEM would take the appropriate steps to make sure residents were safe.

“If something would happen and there was widespread power loss, we would open up shelters for people,” Miller said.