Current:Home > InvestWhat is a heat dome? What to know about the weather phenomenon baking Texas -Quantum Capital Pro
What is a heat dome? What to know about the weather phenomenon baking Texas
View
Date:2025-04-14 00:20:19
William Gallus is a professor of atmospheric science at Iowa State University.
A heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area. The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and animals below to suffer through stagnant, hot air that can feel like an oven.
Typically, heat domes are tied to the behavior of the jet stream, a band of fast winds high in the atmosphere that generally runs west to east.
- What do the different heat alerts mean?
- What is the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion?
Normally, the jet stream has a wavelike pattern, meandering north and then south and then north again. When these meanders in the jet stream become bigger, they move slower and can become stationary. That's when heat domes can occur.
When the jet stream swings far to the north, air piles up and sinks. The air warms as it sinks, and the sinking air also keeps skies clear since it lowers humidity. That allows the sun to create hotter and hotter conditions near the ground.
If the air near the ground passes over mountains and descends, it can warm even more. This downslope warming played a large role in the extremely hot temperatures in the Pacific Northwest during a heat dome event in 2021, when Washington set a state record with 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 Celsius), and temperatures reached 121 F in British Columbia in Canada, surpassing the previous Canadian record by 8 degrees F (4 C).
The human impact
Heat domes normally persist for several days in any one location, but they can last longer. They can also move, influencing neighboring areas over a week or two. The heat dome involved in the June 2022 U.S. heat wave crept eastward over time.
On rare occasions, the heat dome can be more persistent. That happened in the southern Plains in 1980, when as many as 10,000 people died during weeks of high summer heat. It also happened over much of the United States during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s.
Dangerous heat and humidity persists across the south-central U.S. and is forecast to expand into the Southwest early next week. https://t.co/E6FUiHeWA0 pic.twitter.com/i7fBH34qU5
— National Weather Service (@NWS) June 24, 2023
A heat dome can have serious impacts on people, because the stagnant weather pattern that allows it to exist usually results in weak winds and an increase in humidity. Both factors make the heat feel worse – and become more dangerous – because the human body is not cooled as much by sweating.
The heat index, a combination of heat and humidity, is often used to convey this danger by indicating what the temperature will feel like to most people. The high humidity also reduces the amount of cooling at night. Warm nights can leave people without air conditioners unable to cool off, which increases the risk of heat illnesses and deaths. With global warming, temperatures are already higher, too.
One of the worst recent examples of the impacts from a heat dome with high temperatures and humidity in the U.S. occurred in the summer of 1995, when an estimated 739 people died in the Chicago area over five days.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
- In:
- Climate Change
- Severe Weather
- Heat Wave
veryGood! (55427)
Related
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Immigration helped fuel rise in 2023 US population. Here's where the most growth happened.
- NFL Week 16 odds: Moneylines, point spreads, over/under
- Texas man's photo of 'black panther' creates buzz. Wildlife experts say it's not possible
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Justice Department sues Texas developer accused of luring Hispanic homebuyers into predatory loans
- Dunkin' employees in Texas threatened irate customer with gun, El Paso police say
- North Korea’s Kim again threatens use of nukes as he praises troops for long-range missile launch
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Hiker rescued from bottom of avalanche after 1,200-foot fall in Olympic National Forest
Ranking
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Methamphetamine, fentanyl drive record homeless deaths in Portland, Oregon, annual report finds
- Look Back on the Most Dramatic Celeb Transformations of 2023
- Newly released video shows how police moved through UNLV campus in response to reports of shooting
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Tennessee judge pushes off issuing ruling in Ja Morant lawsuit
- Yes, your diet can lower cholesterol levels. But here's how exercise does, too.
- Yes, your diet can lower cholesterol levels. But here's how exercise does, too.
Recommendation
Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
The Constitution’s insurrection clause threatens Trump’s campaign. Here is how that is playing out
‘Fat Leonard,’ a fugitive now facing extradition, was behind one of US military’s biggest scandals
Larsa Pippen Accused of Kissing the Kardashians' Ass in Explosive RHOM Midseason Trailer
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
2 adults, 2 children injured in explosion that 'completely destroyed' South Florida home
How do people in Colorado feel about Trump being booted from ballot? Few seem joyful.
Federal regulators give more time to complete gas pipeline extension in Virginia, North Carolina