A weather display indicated that the temperature in Martinsburg, West Virginia, “reached” a blistering 147 degrees Friday, but residents can rest assured that the Eastern Panhandle did not suddenly become one of the hottest places on Earth.
NBC4 meteorologist Doug Kammerer shared the unusual reading on social media, joking, “Martinsburg hit 147 today! Ha ha!! Whoa!!”Kammerer suggested the wildly inaccurate temperature was likely caused by an equipment malfunction, possibly connected to the severe storms that moved through the area Thursday.
Although the 147° reading was erroneous, some very real heat is expected to arrive over the next several days. Kammerer said the final days of August and the first week of September could bring a substantial heat wave, with high temperatures potentially climbing above 95 degrees and heat index values exceeding 100.
“A GREAT weekend ahead and then some pretty intense HEAT builds in,” Kammerer wrote. “I don’t think we set any records, but it will be close. September is going to start on a very warm note.” The National Weather Service forecast for the DC Metro region calls for temperatures to rise from the mid-80s Saturday into the low 90s Sunday and Monday, followed by highs in the mid to upper 90s Tuesday and Wednesday.
