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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Much of U.S. trapped under ‘heat dome’

High temperatures, humidity expected to expand to east

As temperatures hit triple digits, a zoo keeper at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb., cools off a Double Yellow Headed Amazon parrot with water Wednesday. (Associated Press)
Tammy Webber Associated Press

CHICAGO – If the extreme heat and humidity lingering over much of the nation feels like a steam bath, it’s because the same principles are at work in the atmosphere.

Vast amounts of warmth and moisture have become trapped under a huge “heat dome,” bringing record-breaking temperatures and thick, topical air to scores of cities from the Plains to the Ohio Valley. Now the system is moving east to spread the misery to some of the country’s most densely populated areas through the weekend.

The heat dome forms when a high pressure system develops in the upper atmosphere, causing the air below it to sink and compress because there’s more weight on top. That raises temperatures in the lower atmosphere, said Eli Jacks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Silver Spring, Md.

The dome of high pressure also pushes the jet stream and its drier, cooler air, farther north – it’s now well into Canada – while hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico circulates clockwise around the dome, traveling farther inland than normal.

Combined with generally clear skies and the sun’s higher summertime angle, “it gets really hot,” Jacks said.

The cruel result: eye-popping heat index readings measuring temperature combined with humidity. In Newton, Iowa, it was 98 degrees Wednesday with a heat index that made it feel like 115. A day earlier, Newton’s heat index hit 129 degrees.

In Indianapolis, the thermometer read 98 degrees but it felt like almost 114. Chicago’s Midway Airport recorded a high of 99 degrees, which felt like 108. Humidity levels in some of the hottest cities ranged from 40 to 60 percent.

The formation of the dome also explains why conditions in, say, North Dakota aren’t much different this week than in Houston. The big difference is that people in Houston are accustomed to hot weather. Those in the north are not.

“In places where the highest temperature you ever expect is in the 80s and you’re at 102, there are big health concerns,” because fewer people have air conditioning or fans, Jacks said. “Heat is the No. 1 killer out of all weather hazards.”

What’s more, because of the humidity, even nighttime brings little relief.

Humidity makes the weather feel far hotter because the body, which cools itself by perspiring, has to work harder when the air is already moist.

“It’s harder to cool down,” said Jannie Ferrell, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Although heat domes are not rare, this one is unusually large and long-lasting. It began three days ago and may persist for seven to 10 days in some locations, meteorologists said.