Hundreds of millions of Americans will swelter in 90-degree weather for the next few weeks in what is forecast to be the hottest June on record.
A heat dome is projected to form across the East and extend beyond the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast starting Sunday.
Around 260 million people will see temperatures reach or exceed 90 degrees and some will even exceed 100 degrees.
The heat wave will affect major metropolitan areas, including New York City, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston and Hartford.
People are warned to take the impending heatwave seriously and stay cool as temperatures will not drop much overnight.
Hundreds of millions of Americans will swelter in 90-degree weather for the next few weeks in what is predicted to be the hottest June on record.
The heat wave, beginning in the coming days, will project from the Northeast to the Midwest and Ohio Valley.
Northern Maine, which should just be experiencing warmer weather conditions, is likely to experience temperatures above 90 degrees.
The center of the heat dome will likely move from the southern Great Lakes region to the northern Mid-Atlantic and then toward New England.
Washington is forecast to have highs around 95 degrees Monday through Friday of next week.
While the National Weather Service predicts the heat wave will peak at 96 degrees in Chicago on Monday.
A heat dome is projected to form across the East and extend beyond the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast beginning Sunday.
Around 260 million people will see temperatures reach or exceed 90 degrees and some will even exceed 100 degrees. Pictured: A woman being treated for heat exhaustion in Arizona.
But Boston will see highs of 95 degrees later in the week and the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast could see temperatures above 100 degrees.
The heat wave causes temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees higher than average for this time of year.
A heat dome occurs when warm ocean air is trapped in the atmosphere, much like placing a lid on a boiling pot.
Warm air expands through the atmosphere, creating a dome-shaped structure that prevents cooler air from circulating, blocks cloud cover and rain, and can increase the chance of wildfires.
Extreme heat kills more people in the United States than any other weather pattern, killing 1,220 Americans each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It only takes 10 to 15 minutes for your body to overheat, and if it can’t cool down immediately, it can lead to muscle cramps or spasms, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, headaches, and death.
The heat wave will affect cities such as New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston and Hartford.
People are warned to take the heatwave seriously and stay cool as temperatures will not drop much overnight.
The National Weather Service is likely to increase heat watches and warnings early next week.
The agency had to go back to 1994 to find a similar extreme heat wave that affected the same area.
“While some details of the pattern differ, of course, the axis of largest temperature anomalies in the current forecast shows some similarity to the 1994 heat wave that was observed at around the same time in June,” he said Friday.
Experts are concerned that heat domes will also cause major droughts after one previously affected 80 percent of southern Mexico, where temperatures reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit.
Extreme heat is caused by greenhouse gases that come from burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.