All-time record of 112°F possible as heat dome builds
Much of the country is in for a very hot middle of July as several ridges of high pressure dominate conditions across the United States.
Extreme heat warnings are in place from Utah to Michigan as a major ridge of high pressure peaks in strength over the northern Plains.
Above-average temperatures are also building across the southeastern states, where multiple days of record-warm overnight lows are in the forecast throughout Florida.
The National Weather Service expects a high temperature of about 112°F in Billings, Montana, on Sunday afternoon. This would be the all-time hottest temperature ever observed there since records began in the 1930s. The standing all-time record high in Billings is 108°F set on July 14, 2002.
This heat dome over the north-central U.S. is keeping conditions hot all the way into Canada, where the humidex value in Winnipeg may reach record heights on Sunday, according to The Weather Network. (Full disclosure: I wrote the linked TWN article.)
Forecasters expect some nasty thunderstorms to develop around the northern edge of the heat dome. The outer periphery of these ridges can serve as the focus for severe thunderstorm development.
Tuesday looks particularly concerning for New England, where we’ll see a risk for significant damaging winds as one or more clusters of thunderstorms dive south out of eastern Ontario and southern Quebec.
While the extreme heat will back off a little bit, temperatures aren’t cooling off in a hurry anytime soon.
The latest outlook from the Climate Prediction Center shows decent odds of above-average temperatures across much of the country over the next six to ten days. The middle of July is usually the hottest stretch of the year, so the potential for warmer-than-normal readings will make conditions particularly unpleasant.
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