July outlook: Pattern flip to simmer and soak millions as extreme heat shifts West
After the Eastern half of the country endured a brutal and deadly heat wave, Mother Nature has decided to flip the script. Through mid-July, the Western half of the U.S. will bake as a new heat dome builds, while the East Coast catches a break.
After the Eastern half of the country endured a brutal and deadly heat wave, Mother Nature has decided to flip the script. Through mid-month, the Western half of the U.S. will bake as a new heat dome builds.
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This will in turn potentially bring cooler and stormy weather to the East, while triple-digit heat looms for portions of the West.
Through mid-July, the ridge will shift eastward across the Rockies and into the central Plains.
The sinking air underneath the center of high pressure will act like a giant lid on the atmosphere, trapping hot air at the surface.
"This setup is identical to what the East recently experienced, but it could last much longer," the FOX Forecast Center said.
The most severe, triple-digit heat will center directly over the Desert Southwest, pushing afternoon temperatures to extreme levels in places like Phoenix and Las Vegas.
However, as the heat dome expands its northern and eastern flanks, highs will easily climb into the upper 90s and low 100s across cities like Salt Lake City and Denver.
Although it is too early to pinpoint specific records, the FOX Forecast Center said numerous daily highs are expected to be broken.
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The National Weather Service has already issued a major HeatRisk across many states heading into this weekend and will likely expand in coverage next week.
Additionally, stagnant, low-wind conditions underneath the core of the heat dome will trap heavy smoke from ongoing wildfires, potentially leading to severely degraded air quality and thick, hazy skies across the Rockies and High Plains through the middle of the month.
The extreme heat may even spark additional fires as vegetation dries out further across a region already experiencing widespread drought conditions.
Conversely, as this new heat dome anchors itself firmly over the West and Central Plains, it will alter the atmospheric flow downstream, potentially bringing cooler or near-average days to the East.
This pattern change also opens the door for increased chances of rain and storms across the eastern states.
Stick with FOX Weather for your latest forecast updates.
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