A Heat Advisory has been issued for the region for Thursday, July 26th from 12:00 noon until 8:00 PM. Temperatures could reach into the upper 90's, with Heat Index Values at 105-degrees.

Residents are urged to take precautions if they spend time outdoors. That includes staying hydrated, taking frequent breaks in air conditioned or shaded areas, wearing light colored, loose fitting clothing, and scheduling more strenuous activities in the early morning or the evening.

Despite the high temperatures and uncomfortable humidity, this is not the hottest summer in recent years, according to Accu Weather Expert Senior  Meteorologist Jack Boston. "The summer of 2010 was actually much hotter in many ways," he says. "We had maybe a few days where the humidity wasn't high, but our temperatures were definitely higher in the summer of 2010, two years ago." In 2010, Boston says in Frederick, Md. the temperature hit 100-degrees or higher seven times in the month of July, 2010. He says the 100-degree mark was hit two times in both June and August of that year.

"If you compare to this year, we have hit over 100-degree on two occasions in the month of July. We did once in June," says Boston.

While many people think that temperatures of 100-degree or more were rare in past years, Boston says that's not true. "1911, for example, was a very hot summer. Many triple digit readings across the country," he says. "1933 was another one. 1955. There has been also some very hot summers in 1977 and 1988." Boston says many of these hot summers seem to occur during 11-year intervals. "The solar cycle, the cycle of higher activity on the sun, a higher number of sunspots, is on an 11-year cycle as well," he says.

As for the remainder of the summer of 2012, Boston says we can expect more of the same. "We're looking for temperatures to actually stay pretty warm in the month of August, probably not as extreme as the temperatures goes as we have experienced in the month of July," he says. "We expect a strong Bermuda high to set up, surface high pressure over the western Atlantic. So our humidity levels are likely to be pretty high in the month of August."