They’re back — those three-digit devils that distinguish a Texas summer.

The National Weather Service has predicted a procession of afternoon highs marching past 100 degrees, beginning this weekend and tarrying into next.

After flirting with the century mark for several days in late June, today’s high is expected to reach 101 degrees, with Sunday soaring to 103 and Monday topping out at 102.

Thanks to a low-pressure system that sat much further to the east than usual, area residents got a reprieve from the record-smashing heat that has gripped much of the nation this summer, said National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Martello.

That system set up a pattern of cloud cover and subtropical rains, bringing cooler-than-normal temperatures for much of July, Martello said. But as the crux of summer approaches, so is a sinking air mass that makes temperatures soar.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area typically has about 16 days each year that reach 100 degrees from May to September. On average, 6.2 of those days come in July, and 7.5 in August, Martello said.

The National Weather Service had not issued a heat advisory, since overnight lows are expected to be in the mid-70s. However, that could change depending on the heat index, which takes the humidity into account, along with overnight lows staying above 78 degrees, Martello said.

An advisory could come as soon as Sunday, when the combination of heat and humidity presents greater risk for heat-related illness, according to forecasters.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com.