SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A massive "heat dome" is heading for the U.S. that will bake much of the country to potentially record-breaking temperatures next week. (Photo: Johnysweb/flickr/cc)
Get Ready, a Potentially Record-Breaking 'Heat Dome' is Coming
Temperatures in the central U.S. and Upper Midwest could reach 10 to 20 degrees above average
Jul 14, 2016
A massive "heat dome" is heading for the U.S. that will bake much of the country to potentially record-breaking temperatures next week, the Washington Post reports.
Only the Pacific Northwest is expected to escape the heat wave, while the rest of the country can look forward to some of its "hottest weather with respect to normal," the Post's weather editor Jason Samenow writes.
Although it is too early to know exactly how hot it will get, temperatures in the central U.S. and Upper Midwest could reach 10 to 20 degrees above average. Highs in Des Moines, Iowa, for example, may surpass 100degF for three days straight.
According to Atlas Obscura, heat domes are a "meteorological phenomenon" that occur when "a high-pressure system forms in the mid- to upper-atmosphere; the air pressure pushes warm air down towards the surface and traps it there, resulting in higher--often much higher--than normal temperatures."
The phrase came into popular use around 2011, although Oklahoma-based meteorologist Gary England told the New York Times that the title was "a little bit misleading" and that the phenomenon would be more accurately described as a "heat bubble."
Bubble or dome, it's coming. As Mashable's science editor Andrew Freedman points out, "Both the European and GFS models, among others, are depicting the height of the 500 millibar pressure surface, which is normally located around 5,000 meters, or 18,000 feet, to be at or above 6,000 meters, or 19,685 feet.
There are other concerns. Freedman writes:
Another hazard may also be found along the northern fringe of the heat dome, from southern Canada across the northern Great Lakes states and into New England. Atmospheric disturbances tend to ripple across the outer edges of such weather patterns, triggering large complexes of severe thunderstorms.
[....] One of the most confident conclusions in climate science is that heat waves are becoming more intense and more common as the world warms in response to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the air.
The heat wave comes as global temperatures continue to break previous records. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its annual State of the Climate report which found that April 2016 marked the 12th consecutive warmest month on record.
And as Atlas Obscura warns, "As with many other extreme weather events around the world, climate change may be making heat domes more common than ever."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A massive "heat dome" is heading for the U.S. that will bake much of the country to potentially record-breaking temperatures next week, the Washington Post reports.
Only the Pacific Northwest is expected to escape the heat wave, while the rest of the country can look forward to some of its "hottest weather with respect to normal," the Post's weather editor Jason Samenow writes.
Although it is too early to know exactly how hot it will get, temperatures in the central U.S. and Upper Midwest could reach 10 to 20 degrees above average. Highs in Des Moines, Iowa, for example, may surpass 100degF for three days straight.
According to Atlas Obscura, heat domes are a "meteorological phenomenon" that occur when "a high-pressure system forms in the mid- to upper-atmosphere; the air pressure pushes warm air down towards the surface and traps it there, resulting in higher--often much higher--than normal temperatures."
The phrase came into popular use around 2011, although Oklahoma-based meteorologist Gary England told the New York Times that the title was "a little bit misleading" and that the phenomenon would be more accurately described as a "heat bubble."
Bubble or dome, it's coming. As Mashable's science editor Andrew Freedman points out, "Both the European and GFS models, among others, are depicting the height of the 500 millibar pressure surface, which is normally located around 5,000 meters, or 18,000 feet, to be at or above 6,000 meters, or 19,685 feet.
There are other concerns. Freedman writes:
Another hazard may also be found along the northern fringe of the heat dome, from southern Canada across the northern Great Lakes states and into New England. Atmospheric disturbances tend to ripple across the outer edges of such weather patterns, triggering large complexes of severe thunderstorms.
[....] One of the most confident conclusions in climate science is that heat waves are becoming more intense and more common as the world warms in response to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the air.
The heat wave comes as global temperatures continue to break previous records. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its annual State of the Climate report which found that April 2016 marked the 12th consecutive warmest month on record.
And as Atlas Obscura warns, "As with many other extreme weather events around the world, climate change may be making heat domes more common than ever."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A massive "heat dome" is heading for the U.S. that will bake much of the country to potentially record-breaking temperatures next week, the Washington Post reports.
Only the Pacific Northwest is expected to escape the heat wave, while the rest of the country can look forward to some of its "hottest weather with respect to normal," the Post's weather editor Jason Samenow writes.
Although it is too early to know exactly how hot it will get, temperatures in the central U.S. and Upper Midwest could reach 10 to 20 degrees above average. Highs in Des Moines, Iowa, for example, may surpass 100degF for three days straight.
According to Atlas Obscura, heat domes are a "meteorological phenomenon" that occur when "a high-pressure system forms in the mid- to upper-atmosphere; the air pressure pushes warm air down towards the surface and traps it there, resulting in higher--often much higher--than normal temperatures."
The phrase came into popular use around 2011, although Oklahoma-based meteorologist Gary England told the New York Times that the title was "a little bit misleading" and that the phenomenon would be more accurately described as a "heat bubble."
Bubble or dome, it's coming. As Mashable's science editor Andrew Freedman points out, "Both the European and GFS models, among others, are depicting the height of the 500 millibar pressure surface, which is normally located around 5,000 meters, or 18,000 feet, to be at or above 6,000 meters, or 19,685 feet.
There are other concerns. Freedman writes:
Another hazard may also be found along the northern fringe of the heat dome, from southern Canada across the northern Great Lakes states and into New England. Atmospheric disturbances tend to ripple across the outer edges of such weather patterns, triggering large complexes of severe thunderstorms.
[....] One of the most confident conclusions in climate science is that heat waves are becoming more intense and more common as the world warms in response to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the air.
The heat wave comes as global temperatures continue to break previous records. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its annual State of the Climate report which found that April 2016 marked the 12th consecutive warmest month on record.
And as Atlas Obscura warns, "As with many other extreme weather events around the world, climate change may be making heat domes more common than ever."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.