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Almost every corner of the Lower 48 is dealing with some wild weather, with fires, floods, tornadoes and punitive heat waves causing chaos.
A staggering 120 million Americans were hit by reports of extreme heat on Tuesday, while half a million customers in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley were left in the dark after strong thunderstorms cut off power on Monday night.
On Monday, the extreme weather was hard to avoid.
Record heat swelled from Nebraska to South Carolina. Chicago has dealt with hurricane winds and possible tornadoes. Yellowstone National Park was blocked for visitors because of roads that became impassable due to floods. Fires were raging in the southwestern desert.
Seemingly disjointed atmospheric shocks are linked together in what meteorologists call the “ring of fire” of time. A suffocating heat dome is parked above the Tennessee Valley, bringing extreme heat and humidity as strong thunderstorms erupt along its northern border. After the dome, the dry air dried up the southwestern landscape, creating conditions for rapidly spreading fires. The sinking of the jet at the northwestern end of the thermal dome has allowed extraordinary amounts of moisture to pour over the Northern Rockies.
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The active weather model, with heat acting as a central part, is expected to remain for the next week or two. Heat intensified by man-made climate change can cause more devastating storms.
Strong storms are raging from the Great Lakes to the Ohio Valley
The National Weather Service received nearly 600 reports of severe weather Monday as strong thunderstorms erupted in the Midwest and invaded southeast through the Ohio Valley in southwestern Virginia and western North Carolina. The storms blew winds of up to 98 miles per hour, knocking down hundreds of trees.
Forming on the northern periphery of the thermal dome and fueled by south-north temperature contrasts, the storms attracted roaring winds at high altitudes like destructive gusts.
On Monday night, storms erupted on Interstate 94 between Madison and Milwaukee, dropping hen-egg-sized hail before crossing Lake Michigan.
Strong winds minutes ago in the west of Fort Wayne. What sounds like a blown transformer you can hear in the video. You’ve seen a lot of ambulances in the last 10 minutes. #INwx @NWSIWX pic.twitter.com/GunEvbNAjH
– Lincoln Hauser (@Lincoln_Wx) June 14, 2022
The thunderstorm rose to a height of nearly 70,000 feet, feeling the impact of the jet upward, which contributed to its strength. The fruitful speed of lightning, with more than a dozen flashes per second, accompanies the developing storm.
Another severe storm blossomed west of Chicago, turning into a supercell or a spinning thunderstorm that sparked tornado warnings in the area. Sirens blared as funnels danced west of the city, some of which may have landed periodically. There was radar evidence of narrow circulations near Streamwood, Rosell and Maywood, Illinois, and a 84 mph wind gust was reported at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Some damage has been reported, including the entire roof of a third-floor apartment removed in Maywood, in addition to the partial collapse of a wall on Chicago’s North Fremont Street. The meteorological service was on site on Tuesday to investigate the damage.
Far to the east, storms consolidated into numerous echoes of bows or curved lines of squalls containing strong winds. The worst exploded in northeastern Indiana, far southern Michigan and most of Ohio. Gusts of wind reach 98 mph at Fort Wayne Airport, Indiana, and 75 mph at Putnam, Ohio.
The line broke before reaching the Mid-Atlantic, although isolated thunderstorms were possible Tuesday afternoon.
Additional attacks of severe to severe storms are likely in the Midwest and Ohio Valley on Wednesday and Thursday – again shooting on the northern periphery of the heat dome.
Outbreaks of heat in the central and eastern United States
The thermal dome is concentrated near Nashville. It has set dozens of high temperatures since it first formed late last week over Texas and the Southwest. Temperatures rose to 123 degrees in Death Valley, California, while Phoenix reached 114 and Las Vegas 109 over the weekend. Austin and San Antonio reached 105.
Now widespread readings from the upper 90’s to nearly 100 are shifting east. The suffocating humidity makes these air temperatures feel 10 to 15 degrees higher.
Lincoln, Nebraska (103 degrees Celsius), Columbia, South Carolina (103), Austin (102), St. Louis (100), Charlotte (98), Nashville (97) and Louisville and Padua, Kentucky (and both 97) set records on Monday, June 13th. North Platte, Neb., Reached 108 degrees – not just a daily record, but the highest temperature ever recorded there in June.
Record levels can be challenged from Minneapolis to Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday. Excessive heat warnings cover much of the Midwest, where stifling humidity levels, exacerbated by moisture from corn and other crops, can bring heat index values to as high as 110 degrees in places.
“Widespread heat indices of 100+ degrees are dangerous for those who work or play outdoors for long periods,” the National Weather Service tweeted on Tuesday.
As Chicago clears from storms Monday night, it faces “dangerous heat and humidity” on Tuesday and Wednesday, the National Weather Service tweeted. The windy city can feel hot up to 110 degrees.
The Meteorological Service predicted a 99-degree altitude in Minneapolis on Tuesday, which would set a record, surpassing the 98 readings in 1987. Nashville, Columbia, South Carolina and St. Louis are expected to set record values for the second year in a row.
The heat will subside in Minnesota and Wisconsin on Wednesday, but will threaten records from Detroit to Atlanta.
A new heat riot will return to the plains by the weekend. The Center for Climate Forecasting of the Meteorological Service continues to forecast temperatures above the average in the center of the country until next week.
Current conditions on the northern entrance to Yellowstone through the Gardner Canyon between Gardiner, Montana and the Mammoth Hot Springs.
We will continue to communicate about this dangerous situation as there is more information. More information: pic.twitter.com/S5ysi4wf8a
– Yellowstone National Park (@YellowstoneNPS) June 13, 2022
Unusually wet weather surrounded the thermal dome in the northwestern Pacific, where the jet sank late last week. This allowed an unusually strong flow of moisture during the year – known as an atmospheric river – to rise inland from the Pacific Ocean. It spread exceptional June rainfall not only in Washington and Oregon, but also in the Northern Rockies.
Heavy rain and melting snow combine to cause historic flooding around Yellowstone National Park. Two to three inches of rain of several sizes are reported from Saturday to Monday.
Rain and melting snow have caused river levels to exceed centuries-old records in many cases.
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A raging river washed away the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardner Canyon, between Gardiner, Mont, and Mammoth Hot Springs.
“Immediately in effect, there will be no incoming visitor traffic at any of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday, June 14, and at least Wednesday, June 15,” the park’s website said. The park cites “extremely dangerous conditions”, including “severe floods”. [and] landslides “.
At least one home was filmed collapsing into a river in southern Montana because the land on which it was located was eroded.
Meanwhile, a combination of gusty winds, low humidity and drought – exacerbated by recent record temperatures – has sparked dangerous fires in the southwest.
New fires broke out in California and Arizona over the weekend, including north of Flagstaff, Arizona, where a pipeline fire burned 5,000 acres. The Associated Press reported that the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort was closed and hundreds of homes were evacuated in response to the fire, the second to hit the area this year.
Views from O’Leary’s 360 Overwatch webcam tonight at 8:28 p.m. give us an idea of how far this fire has spread … from the top to the valley below. The views we are used to will be black in the morning. That is why we observe the bans on burning! #PipelineFire #azwx pic.twitter.com/YRhcKbajpM
– NWS Flagstaff (@NWSFlagstaff) June 14, 2022
In New Mexico, the largest recorded wildfire in the state continues to rage east of Santa Fe. The Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon fire complex has charred a whopping 325,340 acres – twelve times larger than Disney World – and is 70 percent closed. At the same time, the Black Fire, the second largest in New Mexico, is raging.
President Biden (D) visited New Mexico on Saturday to meet with government and local officials to review ongoing efforts to fight wildfires.
Red flag warnings were in effect Tuesday for much of northern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado due to high fire risk.
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