By Craig Koplien Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Jul 01, 2011 at 5:00 AM

Weather for 4th of July weekend:

Friday
The holiday weekend will have a sizzling start as Friday may be the hottest day of the year so far. Afternoon highs will be in the mid 90s … and that includes areas near Lake Michigan, like Summerfest. The humidity will be very high leading the heat index to peak near 108 in the afternoon. (Heat index is a measure of how hot it really feels when relative humidity is considered along with the reading on the thermometer.)

It will be partly to mostly sunny on Friday, with no threat for rain. There is a small threat for thunderstorms after Midnight on Friday night.

Saturday
Temperatures will be down a touch on Saturday, but it will still be very warm and humid. Highs will be in the upper 80s with the heat index peaking in the low to mid 90s.

It may start rather overcast early on Saturday, and there is a small threat for early morning thunderstorms. If those occur, and it’s a big if, they should depart by mid-morning, giving way to mostly sunny skies the rest of the day.

Sunday
Sunday will be the most comfortable day of the weekend as the humidity will be down considerably. Highs will be in the low to mid 80s.

Skies look to be mostly sunny all day with no threat for rain. That goes for Sunday night as well, good news for communities who have fireworks displays scheduled for the eve of the 4th.

Monday
The 4th of July won’t be much different than Sunday, although the humidity will sneak back up a little. Still, it will be reasonable, and high temperatures will again be in the low to mid 80s.

Another mostly sunny day is expected. Plus the outlook is again positive for fireworks displays. No threat of rain until Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!

Craig Koplien Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Craig is a meteorologist who was born and raised in Pewaukee. After getting a degree in Meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he worked over 20 years on TV and radio in Milwaukee, Madison, Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City, Missouri.

Craig spends most of his time trying to keep up with his bride and their three teenage daughters. Any time left over is spent with his other beloveds, the Packers, Brewers and Badgers.