Heat dome temperatures can break records in the east of the United States

The scorching heat dome seizes the east of the United States, without relief in sight

By Meghan Bartels Edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier

A dome of persistent heat over half is the United States puts tens of millions of people in stifling conditions, with the worst still to come.

On July 25, the coast was supported the weight of heat, with more than 80 million people at a major or extreme risk of heat effects, according to the National Weather Service, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And in the coming days, the south -east of the United States will see several days of potentially record heat, with almost 150 million people – almost half of the country’s population – at a major or extreme risk of thermal effects on July 28.

“Even if it’s in the middle of the summer, it’s quite notable,” said Bryan Jackson, meteorologist at the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, in an interview with an interview American scientist Earlier this week.

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Heat domes occur when a high air pressure mass trap the heat in place. “Essentially, it is a ceiling on the atmosphere which generally leads to warmer temperatures, but also leads to sunny days and less likely,” explains Zack Taylor, also a meteorologist at the NWS Weather Predication Center.

For people under the stifling influence of a heat dome, the weather model can be atrociously tedious to endure, said Jackson American scientist. “Heat domes are generally slow to form and slow to dissipate,” he said.

The current event will be a long lifespan even for a heat dome. Although the system will only increase the temperatures along the east coast on July 25, it will then settle on the Southeast and will develop, with potentially record conditions which should continue around July 31.

The southeast trend to a humidity high at that time of the year traditionally maintains air temperatures slightly lower, adds Taylor, reducing the frequency of days to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees-cellsius). But that might not be true this week: in the coming days, cities like Columbia, SC and Tallahassee, in Florida, can bind or break the daily record temperatures in the Basses F. and the strong humidity means that temperatures cannot fall much overnight, offering people little respite from the dangerous conditions.

Overall, huge parts of the American population will have trouble with heat in the coming days. The assistance card of the National Weather Service includes five categories of risk, with little to the extreme, which it describes as “extreme rare heat and / or long -term without night relief”. More than 24 million people will experience these conditions on July 28 and 30, with more than 30 million people faced with an extreme heat risk on July 29. In addition, more than 100 million people will face a major heat risk on July 28 and 29.

The heat can be fatal: in 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,325 heat -related deaths – more than double the number in 1999, according to a study published last year. And as climate change continues to take place, the dangerous thermal conditions will become more and more widespread.

If you live in a affected area, consult our advice supported by science to stay healthy in extreme heat and to keep your home cool.