The heat continues to rise in the Northern Plains and Central Plains of the United States. More than 15 million people were under heat alerts Sunday. The triple digits were expected in Nebraska and Minnesota.
According to the National Weather Service, heat indexes could reach 100 degrees from the Gulf Coast on Sunday. near the Twin Cities in Minnesota, where it was expected to be “dangerously hot and humid.”
Marc Chenard, a National Weather Service meteorologist said that the heat dome, which scorched the Southwest and brought record high temperatures to more than a half dozen cities, has lingered. He said that it moved eastward and settled in the Plains Sunday.
The heat wave is expected continue into next week.
“The heat is certainly related to the general pattern we’ve been seeing over most of the U.S. going back a week,” Mr. Chenard said. “And it’s actually going to continue for another week or so as well.”
According to Weather Service data, there were a few records set along the central Gulf Coast. The temperature reached 98°F in Tampa, Fla. and 101°F in Mobile, Ala.
The Weather Service stated that the heat dome will move across the Mississippi Valley and mid-South starting Monday. Mr. Chenard stated that the heat dome will move to the Great Lakes, the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys by Tuesday and then to the Southeast by Wednesday.
Temperatures across a large portion of the country will hover above average through the week, Mr. Chenard said, adding that “quite a few potential record highs” could be set across Texas and into much of the Southeast.
The heat wave has since broken in the Southwest, where “early-season monsoonal moisture” was expected to cause flash floods and scattered thunderstorms on Sunday, the Weather Service said.
California and Nevada had significantly lower temperatures on Sunday, with possible record lows of 40 degrees in Nevada just one week after the heat wave.
Red flag warnings were issued for large areas of Arizona and Utah on Sunday. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, six wildfires that engulfed more than 53,000 acres in Arizona remained active. According to the Weather Service, fire conditions are expected to improve on Monday.
Scientists say heat waves are becoming more frequent, hotter, and longer-lasting than in previous decades. They are part of a global warming trend.
According to the federal National Climate Assessment (Federal Climate Assessment), the average number heat waves in the United States have tripled from two per annum in the 1960s to six per annum in the 2010s. The heat wave season lasts 45 days longer now than it did in 1960s.
Source: NY Times
