If you are one of the millions of Americans who’ve felt like they’re being cooked alive amid extreme heat across the country this week, you kind of are.
The cruel weather phenomenon unleashing the scorching temps is referred to as a heat dome—and it’s a lot like heat getting trapped in a lidded pot you have cooking on the stove. Heat domes are formed in the atmosphere when high-pressure areas force heat down and stop milder weather from coming through. The pressure acts as a lid and forms a sort of “dome” in which the heat then builds up and leads to a full-on heatwave.
The National Weather Service has said multiple heat domes across the country are driving up temperatures this week for record-breaking temperatures that arrived before summer even officially begins Thursday.
