Heat Week
Life-Threatening Heat Domes Are Confounding Forecasters
Scientists are working to find atmospheric warning signs that can provide a longer lead time to forecast where and when extreme heat will hit.
A commuter uses a hand fan to keep cool during last month’s heat wave in New York.
Photographer: Adam Gray/BloombergRecord-breaking temperatures seared the eastern US last month, leading to power emergencies across the region. The cause: an enormous ridge of high pressure that settled on the region, known as a heat dome.
This phenomenon has also already struck Europe and China this summer, leading to the temporary closure of the Eiffel Tower and worries about wilting rice crops, respectively. But while heat domes are easy to identify once they strike, they remain difficult to forecast — a problematic prospect in a warming world.