New Delhi, July 24 -- temperatures in the 70s and skies that actually threaten rain.

The relief arrived ahead of schedule. On Thursday, the forecast high sat at 78 degrees Fahrenheit, a drop of more than 14 degrees from the 92-degree heat index that made Tuesday the most dangerous day in Kansas City in nearly a year, per a First Warn alert issued by local forecasters as conditions peaked. By Friday, temperatures are expected to hold at 77 degrees before showers move in during the morning, heavy at times, before tapering off by evening.

But the reprieve is narrow. Wes Peery, a meteorologist with KSHB 41 in Kansas City, forecasted Sunday temperatures to climb back into the 90s, with the weekend range extending toward 100 degrees in some a...