A heat dome is a phenomenon that transpires in the atmosphere of a certain region with high pressure. This force covers the ambiance of an area filled with heat and traps it for longer periods. A heat dome could also expand from a city to several states and might maintain the heat for a few days to a couple of weeks.
Effects of heat dome inflict every humans, animal, and ecosystem that are kept within it. The heat dome produces a stagnant and sometimes windless space that includes hot air, similar to the heat from baking with a hearth or an oven.
What are Heat Domes?
In atmospheric studies, heat domes are associated with a separate phenomenon called the jet stream. These materials are a band of fast atmospheric winds mostly detected from west to east of the planet.
Sometimes, this natural wind exceeds its usual trajectory; when the jet ends up north, a buildup of air materializes and sinks. This same collection of air obtains higher temperature levels as it goes down, reports Scientific American.
While lowering near the ground, the skies become clearer due to the absence of humidity. This will then allow the sun to shine its UV rays straight to the naked surface, contributing to an intense combination that would increase the warmth across a city or even an entire state.
Moreover, the air accumulation could get even hotter as it passes over high-altitude terrains such as mountains before descending. This added factor is one of the elements suspected as the reason behind the staggering heat from the Pacific Northwest heat dome back in 2021.
During this event, Washington recorded 49 degrees Celsius of atmospheric temperatures, with British Columbia in Canada incurring 50 degrees Celsius, a temperature that broke the record of Canada's highest by four degrees.
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Known Heat Domes in the United States
Heat domes could remain in the same place for a few days. However, they could extend to weeks, depending on the conditions that will induce it. Moreover, it could expand to neighboring regions as weeks pass by. The last great heat dome in the US was monitored back in June 2022, where it crept throughout the eastern states for days.
Prior to the 21st century, the most notable heat dome in the country was in 1980, when the southern Plains experienced a massive summer heat that took 10,000 lives. Almost all states also experienced frequent heat domes during the 1930s, also known as the Dust Bowl years.
In a study, the effects of extreme heat and humidity could directly impact many in a certain population under a heat dome. At night, the warm ambiance could cause problems with the body's cooling process, leading to certain conditions and even death.
The US's strongest and worst heat dome occurred in the summer of 1995 when more than 700 Chicago citizens died in just five days.
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