A heat dome is scorching 27 states this week, forcing over 130 million Americans to stay indoors and avoid strenuous work as temperatures reach such extremes some cities are now hotter than the Sahara Desert.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued heat advisories and excessive heat warnings for dangerous temperatures stretching from Texas to the Northeast.
According to AccuWeather, the worst of the heat is building across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, where temperatures are expected to reach 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cities like Shreveport, Memphis, and Little Rock are expected to see some of the most dangerous conditions through the weekend.
In West Virginia, the NWS has issued an Extreme Heat Watch for Friday, with a predicted heat index of 108, which is hotter than the Sahara Desert, where temperatures Thursday are expected to hover near 84 degrees.
Officials said the combination of scorching days and warm, humid nights pose the highest risk of heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
‘Heat-related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events,’ the NWS warned in an alert.
Local emergency agencies recommended staying inside during peak heat hours, typically 11am to 8pm, drink more water than usual, wear light clothes, and avoid strenuous outdoor work. Cooling centers have been opened in several cities to help people beat the heat.
A brutal heat dome is scorching over 20 states, with more than 100 million Americans baking under dangerous temperatures
Oklahoma City, Little Rock, and Wichita all broke 100 degrees for the first time this summer this week
‘Never leave children or pets in vehicles. Car interiors can reach lethal temperatures in minutes,’ NWS officials warned.
Adam Douty, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, told USA Today the country has already dealt with average temperatures one to three degrees above normal this summer.
‘And it’s going to feel a lot warmer than it actually is because of the humidity,’ he said.
A heat dome works like a lid. High pressure builds overhead, trapping hot air at the surface, suppressing clouds, and intensifying sunlight.
It also pulls moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, cranking up humidity across entire regions.
This dome, now centered over the Southern Plains, is expanding north and east. Little Rock, Memphis, and Dallas have already crossed the 110-degree mark, with overnight lows staying around 80.
That’s especially dangerous in cities, where heat lingers long after sunset due to the ‘urban heat island’ effect, when cities absorb and trap heat in the streets during the day, then slowly release it at night.
Materials like concrete, asphalt, and brick hold onto that warmth, making it harder for temperatures to cool down after sunset.
Philadelphia and New York are also on track to potentially break daily heat records by Friday
Brett Anderson, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said: ‘Sleeping will be difficult for some, with a high risk of dehydration.’
‘For those that only have a fan or open window to keep cool, it is not enough,’ he added.
According to AccuWeather report, this week Oklahoma City, Little Rock, and Wichita just saw their first 100-degree days of the year. The Midwest, Ohio Valley, and Northeast are now bracing for the same.
On Friday, heat index values are expected to soar to between 105 and 115 degrees in cities like Boston, Cleveland, Washington, DC, Indianapolis, and Charleston, West Virginia.
In the Midwest, the heat dome’s humidity has been amplified by ‘corn sweat,‘ the moisture evaporating from large fields of crops in states like Iowa and Illinois.
The phenomenon pushes dew points higher, making the air feel even heavier and more oppressive.
According to The Weather Channel, Philadelphia and New York City could reach highs in the mid-90s on Friday, and heat index values may be as high as 105 along the I-95 corridor from Washington DC through Baltimore.
AccuWeather reported that a few daily high temperature records may be broken, especially in New York City, Philadelphia, Hartford, and Newark. Some of those records date back over a century.
By early next week, forecasters expect another surge of dangerous heat, with the dome shifting westward into the Central US and interior West.
The South, meanwhile, is locked into a stretch of upper 90s to low 100s that could stretch well into next week.
Scattered afternoon storms may also pop up in places like the Midwest and Ohio Valley, bringing deadly flash floods and damaging winds.
Parts of Missouri, Indiana, and Tennessee may see heat indices near 115 through the weekend, according to AccuWeather.
‘At this level, it can be dangerous for many people who are exposed to the heat for an extended period of time,’ Anderson warned.
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