A heat dome is spreading dangerous heat across much of the central United States this weekend and into next week, pushing temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit from Dallas to North Dakota. Roughly 70 million people are facing heat advisories as the system traps hot air and keeps the discomfort building.
The danger is not only in the afternoon. Overnight lows are not expected to fall enough for much recovery, and high humidity will make the heat feel worse. The weather is expected to stretch from the desert Southwest to the Gulf Coast and into the Midwest and Great Plains, with temperatures 10 F to 15 F above normal in some places.
Bob Oravec said the heat dome looks like it will stay pretty much stationary as the week goes on. That is why the hottest stretch is expected to linger through the week, with western Nebraska already under a National Weather Service extreme heat warning and temperatures there forecast to reach 108 F on Saturday and Sunday.
The edge of the heat will not look the same everywhere. Some of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast should avoid the extreme heat, and much of the Pacific Northwest should miss it too, even as the central United States endures a punishing run of temperatures. Around Denver, some records may be broken, adding another sign of how broad the blast is.
Hannah Lovelace, who works at the Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, said the heat was already changing behavior in a small but telling way. Fur hats and pelts in the gift shop were not selling so hot during the heat, and she said, “I’m sure no one would be willing to wear it on a day like this.”
The summer has already been marked by earlier heat across the United States, and this latest dome is part of that same relentless pattern. Children, the elderly and people with medical conditions are especially at risk of serious conditions including heat stroke. Relief might come toward next weekend, but Oravec said it could be temporary, which leaves the bigger question whether the atmosphere will keep locking in heat as the season goes on.
