Today, a dangerous heat dome reaches its peak temperature. This is how hot it might become.
This Thursday, temperatures are expected to soar up to 25 degrees higher than the norm for this time of the year, creating a scorching hot atmosphere similar to a July day in many regions.
The heatwave is predicted to continue throughout the weekend before slightly subsiding next week. Some Western areas, though, will still struggle with temperatures around 10 degrees above average.
A strong high pressure system, known as a heat dome, is causing this long stretch of unseasonable warmth. This phenomenon occurs when a large area of high pressure sits over a region, trapping air and bathing it in intense sunshine for days or weeks, resulting in high temperatures.
Those exposed to the elements and unable to seek refuge from the heat are at risk of danger. Even at night, there will be no respite, as a result of our warming planet caused by fossil fuel emissions.
More than 18 million people in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah are currently under heat warnings – the most severe type of heat alerts issued by the National Weather Service. The majority of these warnings, which have been active since Wednesday, will continue through Friday.
Numerous lives have already been claimed by extreme heat. Several people in different parts of the US succumbed to heat-related illnesses over the last few days.
Four migrants suffered heat stroke and dehydration during the scorching heat along the US-Mexico border last weekend, according to the US Border Patrol, El Paso sector.
In the East, a 59-year-old man passed away due to heat-related illnesses in Prince George's County, Maryland, officials announced on Wednesday. No further details regarding the man's death, which marked the state's first heat-related fatality of the year, were provided.
Firefighters encountered difficulties while extinguishing a fire in Napa County, California, Wednesday. Four firefighters suffered injuries stemming from difficult terrain and "hot summer conditions," prompting hospitalization. All four are expected to make full recoveries.
During this unparalleled heatwave, more than a dozen daily high temperature records have already been shattered this week. Dozens more may fall by the weekend.
Cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Arizona, Reno, Nevada, and Fresno, California, could shatter their day's high temperature record on one or more days this week.
Phoenix missed narrowly exceeding 110 degrees this Wednesday but is likely to reach it on Thursday. Las Vegas will probably record temperatures reaching the low 110s, matching the earliest occurrence of 110-degree temperatures on record in the city.
On Thursday, Death Valley – the hottest spot on Earth – will likely reach a high temperature of at least 120 degrees, an occurrence that usually doesn't happen until mid-June.
In California's Central Valley, triple-digit temperatures will persist into the weekend, with 110s lingering in desert areas of California, Nevada, and Arizona.
As summerlike heat creeps northward on Friday, it could reach the Northwest, breaking records in portions of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho through the weekend.
Although not record-breaking, Seattle's highs are forecast to reach the upper 70s on Friday and could flirt with 80 degrees on Saturday, approximately 10 degrees warmer than the norm for early June.
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People in the warned areas, such as California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, should take extreme caution due to the heat dome's peak temperature. Despite the heat dome subsiding next week, some Western areas might still experience temperatures 10 degrees above average.
