Heat Dome Pressure Returns In Southwest; Experts Warn It Could Trigger More Wildfires

The extreme hot weather is set to make its way back into the Southwest, with meteorologists making a warning that this phenomenon could trigger wildfires in some areas.

According to a report on AccuWeather, heat will rise anew across the Southwest following the slight downward trend in the temperatures in the previous days.

Meteorologists said that this pattern is expected to result in daily thunderstorms in some portions of the West in the next days. However, they said that the main focus of the lightning storms would soon shift to different zones.

Read Also: Record-Breaking Heat to Hit Southwest US, Southern Europe

Easing of temperature

Before the public could feel again the extensive heat, experts said the weather would subside or cool down because of the late arrival of the monsoon rains.

A report on GPB News said that residents in metro Phoenix would start seeing high temperatures under 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 43.3 degrees Celsius for the first time in a month. Weather experts took note of the high temperature in the desert city, which had been at or above that mark for 29 consecutive days.

Meanwhile, the overnight low at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport went down to 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 32.2 degrees Celsius, for the first time in 16 days. This weather gave people a much-needed break from the extreme heat even when the sun goes down.

On the other hand, the weather situations in Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Death Valley, California are also expected to ease.

The cooling down of temperature began on Wednesday night when Phoenix had experienced its first major monsoon storm, which should have started on June 15. More than half of the greater Phoenix area had encountered no rainfall from that storm, but some areas in the eastern suburbs were battered by high winds, swirling dust, and localized downfalls.

At present, the massive heat is grappling the eastern part of the United States after the blazing temperatures had moved from the Midwest into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Some places in these regions are seeing their warmest days so far this year.

Return of the heat, wildfire triggers

Meteorologists noted that the areas of Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and southern New Mexico will be drier than earlier this week because of the dome of high pressure that once again builds westward over the Southwest region.

Meanwhile, the weather setup across the South Central and Southwest states will allow temperatures to climb between 5- and 15-degrees Fahrenheit above the historical averages in the next days to come.

The blazing temperatures have lingered in the Southeast region for more than three weeks, and the situation already contributed to the delayed travels and as well as in the number of heat-related deaths.

According to the Earth Observatory, the ridge of high pressure-or a heat dome-had already spread across the southern US.

The heat domes usually happen whenever a strong, high-pressure atmospheric conditions trap sweltering heat over large areas.

Meanwhile, as the upper-level pattern shifts and high pressure moves toward the Southwestern states, monsoon moisture will be displaced farther north across the northern Rockies.

Experts said rain and thunderstorms would bring numerous lightning strikes that can spark and trigger wildfires in the area. Given the dry conditions in the Northwest, the risk of wildfires will also increase by next week.

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