Today’s blog will be relatively short but I’m here to discuss the heat. It’s about to be hot. It’s been pretty hot over the past few days but it’s going to get hotter.

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As we move toward the middle of the week, what is commonly known in the meteorological community as the “death ridge” materializes with impressive heights centered over the central Plains states. This is what the dog days of summer look like. These are hot, sticky days where merely opening any exterior door makes you feel like you’ve just opened a giant oven.

This will be record-challenging heat as well, especially for the Northern Plains and immediately east of the Rockies.

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Though the potential records challenged aren’t particularly widespread, it’s really something to see such a large portion of the United States forecast to be above 90 degrees. The only ones escaping this heat are the elevations, Northern Great Lakes, and the Northeast.

As is usually the case east of the Rockies due to moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, this won’t be a “dry” heat either. We’ll have humidity to contend with, making it feel much warmer than it actually is.

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With “feels like” temperatures soaring into the triple digits, these next few days might be a good time to stay inside, stay cool, and stay hydrated, if at all possible.

Fortunately for this part of the country, this won’t be an extended heatwave.

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A digging trough in the east will kick the heat westward as we approach the weekend. While this is good for those in the oven in the middle of the week, this presents a potential problem for the Pacific Northwest – in the form of another heatwave. This is something to watch and plan for as the models have been rather consistent on this idea. We’ll have more on that in our blogs as we move through the week.