Where summerlike, record-breaking heat will hit the U.S. this week

Record heat is expected to sizzle across 22 states this week – with the most intense conditions expected across the Intermountain West, Plains and South. Temperatures are forecast to top 90 degrees for about 50 million people and 100 degrees for 11 million more.

The heat blast comes as about 60 % of the United States grapples with drought, particularly in areas where some of the hottest conditions are expected this week.

Here are some predicted record-breaking or record-tying temperatures in the region:

• 103 degrees in Las Vegas on Monday.

• 102 degrees in Fresno, California, on Monday and
  • Tuesday.
  • 95 degrees in Wichita, Kansas, on Friday and Boise on Tuesday.
  • 94 degrees in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.
  • 91 degrees in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday.

  Near Death Valley, California, the temperature could soar to a summerlike 117 degrees on Monday, although conditions won’t be nearly as extreme near the coast in California because of a cooler marine influence. In Phoenix, 109 degrees is forecast Monday – heat more typical of July.

  Climate scientist Daniel Swain in California wrote that daytime and nighttime temperatures across the West would be much warmer than mid-May averages.

  The National Weather Service in San Diego warned: “Make sure to stay hydrated and seek shade when possible if working outdoors.”

  Later in the week, from Thursday to Saturday, record heat is expected to shift into the Plains, including across Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas – where drought covers about 88%, 81% and 60 % of the land, respectively.

  While notable, this spell of high Western heat won’t be as unusual as the record-shattering March heat dome, which was intensified by a 5,000-mile-long marine heat wave in the Pacific Ocean.

  The pattern of heat this week is being driven by a transient heat dome, forming because of weaker jet stream winds.

  Where drought and heat are most concerning
  
  

  In Colorado, where 96 % of the state was covered by drought last week, a late-season snowstorm wasn’t enough to avert a looming water crisis on the Colorado River. Nearly 60 % of Utah is covered by extreme drought (Level 3 out of 4).

  No significant precipitation is on the immediate horizon for either state, and both may face record heat this week.

  Although the South will generally avoid widespread record heat this week, rainfall continues to look sparse. In that region, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee are completely covered by drought – with Florida around 99 % covered, where a 4,800-acre wildfire was burning with 20 % containment in the Everglades northwest of Miami early Monday.

  Cool in the East, but not for long
  
  

  After a record-warm March and April for swaths of the country, May has brought below-average temperatures to around 200 million people so far, including widespread late-season frosts and freezes in the north.

  Those unusually cool conditions will continue from the Midwest to the East Coast this week, with temperatures forecast to dip into the 40s in D.C. on Monday night.

  But there are signs that this chilly air will give way to much warmer conditions this weekend into next week, with temperatures soon potentially reaching summer levels from Chicago to New York.