A heat dome that has caused Almost 90 consecutive days of triple-digit highs in Phoenix moved into Texas on Wednesday, and high temperature records are expected to fall over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
A major heat warning has been issued for Texas, reflecting what the weather service called “unusual and/or long-lasting extreme heat with little to no relief overnight.” An extreme heat watch has been issued for eastern New Mexico.
A heat dome is a stable, slow-moving upper-level high-pressure air system with a deep layer of high temperatures, said meteorologist Bryan Jackson.
“Typically, it’s sunny, the sun is beating down, it’s hot and the air is contained there,” Jackson said. “There are a dozen sites that are setting daily records … mostly over Texas.”
Record temperatures were expected in cities including Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Amarillo. In Phoenix, monsoon rains have provided brief respites since Sunday, though daytime highs continue to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius).
The dome was expected to move toward western Oklahoma and eastern New Mexico starting Saturday, then into the middle Mississippi Valley, where it was forecast to weaken slightly, Jackson said.
About 14.7 million people are under excessive heat warnings, with heat indices expected to reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) or higher. Another 10 million people are under heat warnings.
Hundreds of people have already sought emergency care, according to MedStar Ambulance in Fort Worth, Texas. The service responded to 286 heat-related calls during the first 20 days of August — about 14 per day — compared to about 11 per day in August 2023, according to public information officer Desiree Partain.
Christa Stedman, captain of the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, said calls about heat-related illness in the area around the Texas State Capitol since April 1 have increased by about one per day compared to last year, although July was somewhat milder this year.
“The vast majority of what we see is heat exhaustion, which is good because we catch it before it becomes heat stroke, but it’s bad because people don’t listen to the warning signs,” such as heat cramps in the arms, legs or stomach that warn that the body is getting too hot, Stedman said.
“It’s been a hot summer, but this one stands out in terms of extremes,” said Jackson, the meteorologist.
Earlier this month, around 100 people fell ill and 10 were hospitalized due to extreme heat at a Colorado air show and at least Two people died due to the heat in California’s Death Valley National Park.
Globally, one series of 13 consecutive months With a new record of average heat, the last july when the natural climate pattern of El Niño began to decline, the European climate agency Copernicus announced on Thursday.
