A strengthening high-pressure system is expected to send temperatures above 110 degrees in parts of the West and Plains while raising the risk of dangerous humidity, prolonged heat and rapidly developing drought through next week.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
More than 30 states could face record-challenging temperatures as an unusually strong heat dome expands across the western and central United States through next week.
The slow-moving area of high pressure is forecast to intensify over the weekend before spreading across the Rockies, Plains and Gulf Coast. The pattern will trap hot air near the surface for days, producing an extended period of dangerous heat rather than a brief spike in temperatures.
“Dangerous heat is building across parts of the West and Central U.S. through this weekend and will expand into the Central U.S. and Gulf Coast early next week,” the National Weather Service warned.
The agency also said portions of the Plains and Midwest, including areas within the Corn Belt, could experience “rapid onset drought” as extreme temperatures accelerate the loss of soil moisture.
Heat domes form when a broad, persistent high-pressure system suppresses cloud development and traps increasingly warm air below it. Forecasters expect the approaching system to rank among the strongest heat domes anywhere in the world this weekend before it begins shifting eastward.
Some of the most severe conditions are expected in the Southwest. Projections from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts indicate that temperatures through Wednesday could reach 121 degrees in California, 120 in Arizona and 115 in Nevada, according to The Washington Post.
The central United States is also expected to experience unusually high readings. Kansas could reach 113 degrees, while Oklahoma and Texas could each climb to 112. South Dakota may approach 109 degrees.
Temperatures above 105 degrees are forecast in portions of Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming. Iowa and Wisconsin could also surpass 100 degrees.
High humidity will worsen conditions across the Plains and Gulf Coast. Moist air is expected to push heat index values significantly above measured temperatures, increasing the danger for people working or exercising outside and for those without reliable access to air conditioning.
The heat dome could also intensify agricultural concerns across the nation’s interior. Sustained heat and limited rainfall can rapidly dry topsoil, stress crops and increase demand for irrigation during a critical point in the growing season.
The latest outbreak follows several other major heat events this summer. An earlier heat dome established temperature records across the eastern United States, while another sent readings as high as 115 degrees in Montana.
Forecasters expect the southern Plains to remain beneath the strongest portion of the system through much of next week. The high-pressure center is then projected to shift gradually toward the West Coast.
Until that movement begins, dozens of daily temperature records could fall as communities across the West, Plains, Midwest and Gulf Coast endure another prolonged period of potentially dangerous summer heat.
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