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While historic temperatures are scorching Europe, with readings as high as 115 degrees in Portugal, it’s just as hot in the States. Sixty million Americans could experience triple-digit temperatures over the next few days, with plains reaching highs of 115 degrees and heat index values exceeding 120 degrees.
Dallas and Oklahoma City are forecast to reach at least 108 degrees Tuesday afternoon.
Heat advisories and extreme heat warnings blanket the plains, where the combination of record-breaking heat and tropical humidity will put a dangerous strain on the human body for those who can’t escape the heat. This poses a serious threat to the elderly, the homeless, and others without adequate access to cooling shelters.
Europe is simmering in a record heatwave as thousands flee wildfires
“Extreme heat and humidity will greatly increase the potential for heat-related illness,” the National Weather Service wrote, “especially for those who work or participate in outdoor activities.”
The heat is concentrated over the southern Plains and south-central United States, but it already managed to deliver a record high of 107 degrees in Salt Lake City on Sunday. In Montana, Glasgow experienced one of its 10 hottest days on record at 108 degrees.
A stretched ridge of high pressure, known as a heat dome, is responsible for the high temperatures. It brings clear skies, sinking air and abundant sunshine. It also redirects the jet stream north into Canada, deflecting any large storm systems or severe weather. This is why heat domes often produce drought.
Tuesday is likely to be the hottest for next week, although highs above the century mark will stick around for the foreseeable future. Oklahoma City is expected to reach 109 degrees on Tuesday, its hottest since July 20, 2018. The Sooner State’s capital has only reached 109 degrees 19 times since 1890.
“We had one day in 2018 where we got to 109,” said Vivek Mahale, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla. “Tomorrow we will be about 104 [Wednesday]but we will still be 5 to 7 degrees above average for the rest of this week.”
In southwest Oklahoma along the HE Bailey Turnpike, the high temperature is expected to peak around 112 degrees Tuesday afternoon. Since July 1912, this has happened only 20 times, making the heat about once every five years.
It’s a similar story in Wichita Falls, just across the Red River in north-central Texas, where a reading of 112 degrees is also forecast.
The extreme heat, locally exceeding 110 degrees, is bleeding further south into the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, where DFW International Airport had its hottest day on record Monday. The morning low of 86 degrees and the afternoon high of 109 averaged 97.5 degrees, matching the record set on August 3, 2011. That 86 degrees was also associated with a record warm low.
Meacham International Airport in Fort Worth soared to 110 degrees Monday.
Dallas is projected to hit 109 again on Tuesday and 108 on Wednesday. So far this month, DFW has already had 14 days at 100 degrees or above.
🌡️Dangerous heat with almost record temperatures is expected on Tuesday. Forecast highs range from 106 to 113 °F.
⚠️Please review these heat safety tips and the signs of heatstroke – remember that excessive heat can be deadly! #okwx #texomawx pic.twitter.com/16o2UncEaV
— NWS Norman (@NWSNorman) July 18, 2022
In addition to the magnitude of the heat, the duration is just as concerning.
“Right now, I’d say the longevity” is most impressive, Mahale said. “The biggest impact on people is how persistent it was.”
The heat itself is unusual, about 5 to 10 degrees above average in places like Oklahoma and Kansas and up to 15 degrees hotter than normal in the Lone Star State. Even Houston is expected to reach around 100 degrees every afternoon through at least early next week.
High temperatures in the 102 to 106 degree range are expected in Austin through at least early next week. The same is true in San Antonio, Tulsa and Wichita.
Even more problematic are the overnight lows, which won’t drop below the mid-80s in many areas. Hot nighttime temperatures are a major contributor to heat-related deaths because warm nights prevent the body from entering its nighttime cooling period. Highs above 100 degrees will also spread into the desert southwest.
The sun sets on an intense brush fire in Somervell County (SW of DFW). This fire produces a tall pyrocumulus cloud (see its shadow on the east side). Fire releases heat and moisture and when unstable atmospheric conditions exist they can develop into storms. #dfwwx #txwx pic.twitter.com/ueHaQsTqxE
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) July 19, 2022
In Southeast Texas and along the Gulf Coast, dew points near 70 — which indicates the amount of tropical moisture in the air — will result in heat indices approaching or exceeding 110 degrees. Farther north and west over the Interstate 35 corridor, relatively less moisture will lead to wildfire concerns. Red flag warnings are in effect for a wide swath of Texas and Oklahoma, where relative humidity could drop below 25 percent and wind gusts could reach 30 mph.
“A red flag warning means that a hazardous combination of weather conditions and dry vegetation is expected within 24 hours, favoring the rapid growth and spread of wildfires,” the National Weather Service in Tulsa wrote. Several fires are already burning in the south central plains.
Those conditions could “contribute to extreme fire behavior,” the weather service in Norman reiterated. More than half of Texas is experiencing severe or “extreme” top-level drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“We haven’t had significant rainfall in a while,” Mahale said. “Many of our stations haven’t had at least a quarter inch of precipitation in 30 to 40 days and only isolated to widespread storms over the past month. As the vegetation dries out, it makes it easier for the crops to heat up. You don’t have a lot of evaporation and things dry out.”
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