Oppressive heat, potentially dangerous thunderstorms approach upstate

Heat and scattered,

but potentially dangerous, thunderstorms are moving into eastern upstate New York, with meteorologists warning that it could feel oppressive outside by Thursday.

A heat advisory will be in effect from noon Thursday in the counties that surround Albany and low-lying portions of the Hudson Valley, including Hudson, Poughkeepsie and Middletown.

The temperature will flirt with 90 degrees on Thursday, but the National Weather Service in Albany said rising humidity will make it feel like the mid-90s. Even outlying areas like the Mohawk Valley, the Catskills and the southern Adirondack Mountains will experience temperatures in the high 80s, meteorologists said.

Thursday could also bring scattered but severe

thunderstorms.

The weather service says there is a marginal chance the valley areas between Schenectady and Orange counties could be hit with thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening.

Meteorologists say the primary hazards will be

damaging wind gusts and large hail, but there is also the possibility of tornadoes and flooding from heavy rains.

The weather service says the temperature could be oppressive on Friday, too, with the possibility that the mercury will return to the 90s.

Forecasts indicate milder weather for Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures expected to be in the mid-80s.