Heat Wave Marches Eastward into the New Week

There will be no relief from the searing temperatures in the western U.S. throughout the next week. The record-breaking heat wave is forecast to linger into another week.

Focus of Heat Dome Shifting Slightly to the East

Forecasters are warning those in the West to prepare for another week of relentless heat. The core of the heat dome will move slightly to the east, bringing the high readings to the interior portions of the West and into the central U.S.

Major metropolitan areas such as Denver, Omaha, and Kansas City will see the likelihood of triple digits in the coming days. While the heat will expand to the east, it will remain toasty in communities located farther to the west. This is the same part of the country that saw several all-time record highs fall at the start of the month. Although the record-breaking temperatures are likely to ease over the West Coast, the mercury will still hover slightly above the historical average for the middle of July. Combined with little to no precipitation, the risk of wildfires will also remain in place.

Temperatures have bounced around at near or even below average for the bulk of the central U.S. for the first half of July. This is direct contact to the western U.S. with its soaring temperatures gripping Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California.

The mercury started its upward trajectory in the Mountain West region late in the week with places such as Denver climbing above the century mark for the first time of the year on Friday. The Mile High City is likely to once again hit the triple digits on Sunday before cooling slightly into the mid 90s for a high on Monday. These readings are about 10 to 15 degrees over the norm for the middle of July.

Should Denver reach 101 degrees on Sunday, it will break the previous record of 100 degrees from 1878. The all-time record for the city is 105 degrees, a mark reached just five times in recorded history.

A number of heat advisories and excessive heat warnings are in place for the central Plains and up into the Upper Midwest this weekend as the mercury inches upward. Real feel readings are trending even higher with the intense July sunshine and high humidity levels leading the charge. The forecast is calling for real feel readings to hover several degrees higher than where the air temperatures land. This will be particularly true for the Midwest as humidity levels surge.

Meteorologists are also predicting that rain showers and thunderstorms are likely to erupt along the northern fringe of the heat dome. While this development may put some outdoor plans in flux, the clouds and moisture will also work to trim the temperatures for the northern Plains, the Upper Midwest, and into the Great Lakes. Residents of this region will want to be ready for heavy rain and high winds. Unfortunately, the bulk of the rain associated with this weather pattern will fall across an area that is already dealing with high water levels due to June's heavy rain.

A cold front is forecast to usher in cooler air from Canada later in the week, bringing a bit of relief to the central U.S. and beyond.

More sustained relief will arrive later in the new week for the central states, as a cold front sweeps in a cooler and drier air mass from Canada beginning in the middle of the week.