Heat dome expected to bring record setting hot temperatures to western U.S. and Canada
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Hot enough for ya?
Well, it’s about to get even hotter as a record-challenging heat dome is about to scorch a huge amount of the western U.S. and Canada this weekend with the summer’s highest temperatures so far, say CNN meteorologists.
A brutal heat dome will bring the hottest temperatures to tens of millions living in a massive area stretching from southern California to western Canada.
Dozens of record highs are expected to fall in at least 12 states on the U.S. west coast through the weekend with around 40 million people under heat alerts.
High temperatures will climb between 12ºC and nearly 24ºC hotter than they should be – even for the peak of summer – from southern California to the northern Rockies and Plains from Friday through Tuesday.
Death Valley, Calif., is forecast to see the hottest temperature of this heat wave: a blistering 52ºC.
This is the latest in a series of record-breaking heat waves that have affected the U.S., Europe and parts of Canada this summer.
Researchers are exploring if strong and slow-moving heat domes are also possibly becoming more common as the world warms.
How heat domes work
Heat domes act like a lid on a pot, trapping and enhancing hot air beneath them and this one is expected to reach even higher in the atmosphere than typical, raising the ceiling on just how extreme surface temperatures can get.
More than 12 million people across the Southwest, Mountain West and northern Great Plains are under a Level 4 of 4 “extreme” heat risk Saturday and Sunday, with an additional 12 million people under a Level 3 of 4 “major” heat risk.
The National Weather Service in the U.S. warns that heat at this level will affect anyone without access to cooling and hydration.
By Tuesday, around 10% of the continental U.S. will record the hottest day of the year so far and more hot weather is predicted in large parts of the West beginning on Thursday, according to the weather service.
Meanwhile, overnight lows will also remain nearly 10 degrees above normal across the West and the lack of colder temperatures is especially dangerous as it gives the body less time to recover before the next day’s heat.