What Is A Heat Dome? Millions To Face Scorching Temperatures This Weekend

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Millions of Americans are facing oppressive heat, with forecasters expecting a "heat dome" to develop over parts of the county over the weekend and through next week.
Why It Matters
The National Weather Service (NWS) warns that heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events.
What To Know
Nearly one-third of the U.S. population is set to face a stretch of extreme heat beginning as early as Friday, according to forecasters at AccuWeather.
The area of extreme heat will stretch from the Rockies to the East Coast, with spikes between five and 15 degrees above historical averages, the outlet said.
It added that some 170 million people will experience temperatures of 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
A forecast map from AccuWeather shows which states are facing the heat this weekend.
A forecast map from AccuWeather shows which states are facing the heat this weekend.
AccuWeather
According to the NWS, the "hottest temperatures of the season so far" are anticipated to begin Friday across the Plains, later expanding across parts of the Great Lakes and Midwest.
Then, the extreme heat will move East and persist across the Ohio Valley and swathes of the East Coast later in the weekend and through much of next week.
An AccuWeather forecast map highlights where the heat wave is expected to spread next week.
An AccuWeather forecast map highlights where the heat wave is expected to spread next week.
AccuWeather
AccuWeather meteorologist Adam Douty told Newsweek that heat dome and heat wave are broadly synonymous. "In terms of impacts, they are the same," he said—though Douty added that heat dome can refer more to the atmospheric set up that leads to a heat wave.
What People Are Saying
AccuWeather meteorologist Adam Douty told Newsweek: "In weather context, a heat dome is created when a strong high-pressure system (in the mid and upper atmosphere) parks itself over an area and doesn't move much.
"The high pressure prevents clouds and [precipitation] from forming, which means more sunshine and even hotter daytime temperatures. And since winds are weak under this dome, it can hang around for days or even weeks."
Ben Noll, a meteorologist for The Washington Post said on X, Wednesday: "A heat dome will form over central states on Friday before expanding and intensifying.
"Heat domes are large and strong heat-trapping lids of high atmospheric pressure.
"This one will last around a week, with numerous temperature records expected to fall."
The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said on X, Wednesday: "Numerous daily record highs and warm lows are anticipated Sunday into early next week. This level of heat can be dangerous to anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration."
What Happens Next
Douty told Newsweek that this stretch of heat will intensify over the Plains and Midwest through the weekend, shifting to the East by early next week. While temperatures are expected to ease mid-to-late week, highs will still stay above normal in many regions.

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