A stifling heat wave that has been roasting the west since the beginning of July will relent some areas this weekend, but will also continue to expand its footprint to the east across the central U.S., challenging records there into the new week, warn AccuWeather meteorologists.
Denver, Kansas City and Omaha are among the cities where record highs and triple-digit heat are forecast over the next few days. The expansion of this heat dome is part and parcel of a very hot weather pattern across a large portion of the country, with heat-related advisories also in effect in parts of the South and East.
Across areas farther west, where all-time record highs were set over the last couple of weeks, while the heat will ease, it will not cease. Temperatures will remain above the historical average into the second half of July, raising the risk for fires and expanding drought conditions.
For the better part of the beginning of July, residents of the central U.S. have enjoyed temperatures near or below average, in stark contrast to their neighbors to the west. Recently and moving forward in the short term, they can no longer claim such a comfort.
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"After an extended, record-breaking heat wave across California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada, the heat dome responsible for those records has begun to shift east," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
Denver soared above 100 degrees on Friday for the first time this year after reaching !)) for the first time on June 25. Additional days in triple-digit territory are expected this weekend, reaching levels that are 10-15 degrees above the historical average and likely breaking the records both on Saturday and Sunday. The city's Sunday record of 100 is a long-standing one, set 146 years ago in 1878.
Temperatures this weekend in the Mile High City will also get mighty close to the all-time record high of 105, set on five occasions, most recently on Jun. 24, 2018.
As a result of the heat, heat advisories and excessive heat warnings were plastered across the central Plains to the upper Midwest this weekend.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures, which combines a number of factors such as the temperature, humidity, amount of sunshine and wind to give a more realistic representation of how it feels, will be several degrees above the actual thermometer readings for most, especially in the Midwest, where humidity levels will be elevated.
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On the edge of the heat dome, rounds of showers and thunderstorms will cut the heat across the northern Plains and upper Midwest, from the Dakotas to the Great Lakes. They will also bring a risk for torrential rain and damaging winds, including across a region where rivers are still running high following heavy rain last month.
More sustained relief will arrive later in the new week for the central states, as a cold front sweeps in a cooler and drier air mass from Canada beginning in the middle of the week.
For heat-weary residents of the interior West, it has been a sultry first half of July, with numerous records falling to the wayside thanks to the massive heat dome. Since it has contracted to the east, a slight break in the heat has arrived, especially across the Northwest, and this will expand south into California, say AccuWeather meteorologists.
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"Although it will still be hot in places like Sacramento and Fresno, California, we do not expect additional records to be broken through the middle of the new week," said Buckingham.
Instead, temperatures will be about 5-10 degrees above the historical average in places like Las Vegas and Phoenix, which is still well into the 90s and even into triple-digit territory.
Sin City had a blistering stretch of record high temperatures from July 6 to 12, tying or setting record highs each day, including an all-time record high of 120 on July 7. This weekend and into the start of the new week, high temperatures should be less than 110 most days, ending a stretch that has dated back to July 3.
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While relief will be felt closer to the coast and in the Northwest, and also in the Midwest, the intermountain West and northern Rockies region will bear the worst of the heat for the new week, thanks to a bulge in the jet stream that will keep temperatures in triple-digit territory for some deep into the second half of July.
As of Saturday, the AccuWeather forecast for Boise, Idaho, calls for high temperatures to be near or above 100 degrees through Saturday, July 27, with only modest relief thereafter. The historical average high temperature in Boise is in the low to mid-90s for the rest of the month.
Subtle shifts in the heat dome will also open the door to some monsoon moisture and thunderstorm activity in the Southwest.
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"As the heat dome moves, the corridor of monsoon thunderstorm activity will also shift," said Buckingham. "The moisture will not be overly impressive, but there will be an elevated risk of thunderstorms and spot fires across the Four Corners region for the new week."
Outside of the area in the Southwest where thunderstorms are possible, it will be bone dry. The combination of the lack of rainfall and high temperatures will expand the drought footprint, especially across the Rockies.
