NATCHEZ — Even before July arrives, courting season has begun.

The thermometer is dancing its way up, and upper 90s will give way to a triple-digit day or two, most Southerners assume.

Weather predictions over the weekend said that day might just be today, but revised projections Monday gave the area a bit more time to prepare for the dance.

Still, the National Weather Service is predicting a high of 95 today and 96 Thursday. The heat indexes could be 104 and 105, respectively.

The drought that’s affecting Adams County isn’t helping temperatures get any cooler, either, even with the half-inch of rain last week.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the National Climatic Data Center Meteorologist Richard Heim said last week’s drought measurement still showed that Mississippi is in extreme drought.

“The relationship between drought and temperature is how the ground absorbs heat,” Heim said. “If the ground is wet, the sunlight is absorbed by the water.

“Water takes more energy to heat up. If the sun hits dry ground, it gets hotter faster, because (the heat) doesn’t go into evaporating water.”

Heim said area residents should be prepared for dangerously hot temperatures this week.

“If you have humidity and it gets hot, you’re just going to feel like you’re under a blanket — it’s like a hot, wet blanket, and it feels like you’re smothering,” he said.

“If air is humid when you perspire, the perspiration doesn’t have anywhere to go, so it keeps heat in the body. If it’s not humid, the perspiration goes off into the dry air.”

The highest recorded temperature for early July in Natchez was 105 degrees in 1935.

Temperatures should peak in the mid 90s this week and then drop back into the low 90s by the weekend.