Bob Oravec said the US atmospheric heat dome looks like it will sit in place through the week as dangerous heat spreads across much of the central United States. Roughly 70 million people are under heat advisories.
The heat is expected to push temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit from Dallas to North Dakota, with overnight lows not dropping enough for much recovery. High humidity will make the heat feel worse, and the National Weather Service said western Nebraska was under an extreme heat warning for 108 F on Saturday and Sunday.
Bob Oravec on the week ahead
Oravec, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said: “It looks like it is going to be pretty much stationary in that position as we go through the week,” a sign the hot spell is likely to remain in place across the Midwest and Great Plains. Temperatures are expected to run 10 F to 15 F above normal in parts of the region.
The hottest stretch reaches from the desert Southwest to the Gulf Coast and into the Midwest and Great Plains, with some records around the Denver area possibly broken. The same setup means people trying to plan around the heat should expect limited overnight relief and conditions that stay elevated through the day.
Hannah Lovelace at Chadron
At the Museum of the Fur Trade near Chadron, Nebraska, Hannah Lovelace said fewer visitors than usual were stopping by for this time of year. She said fur hats and pelts in the gift shop were not selling so hot, adding, “I’m sure no one would be willing to wear it on a day like this.”
Loose-fitting, period-correct fabric shirts remained popular with people headed to historical frontier re-enactments called rendezvous. Some areas will be spared, including the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, even as much of the central United States faces the worst of the heat.
Weekend heat and next relief
The hot weather is expected to continue through the week, and some relief may arrive toward next weekend. Oravec said that relief might be temporary, leaving the central United States with only a short break before the pattern changes again.
For people under advisories, the immediate concern is a stretch of days with little overnight cooldown and humidity that keeps conditions feeling harsher than the thermometer shows.
