It's too darn hot!

Another Week of Record-Breaking Heat Scorches Much of the U.S.

June has been a hot one across the country; see where the temperatures have been most oppressive

Houston and a host of other major cities have experienced daily highs well above historical averages.

By Carl Churchill, Taylor Umlauf and Josh Ulick, WSJ

June 25, 2022 9:00 am ET

Sweltering heat gripped much of the U.S. this week, from the Midwest to the South, sending temperatures to record-breaking levels and putting millions of people under heat advisories. A reprieve for the Midwest is forecast to come this weekend, but high temperatures are expected to persist in Texas and across the South into next week, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The recent heat spell comes on the heels of stifling temperatures last week, creating what has been an unseasonably hot June for many cities in the U.S.

Hot, dry conditions in the Southwest and parts of California have exacerbated tinderbox conditions for forest fires. Much of the region has been experiencing an extended and severe drought, although the start of monsoon season brought much-needed rain to parts of Arizona and New Mexico this week.

A dome of high pressure, sometimes called a heat dome, generated above-normal to record-breaking temperatures this month, the National Weather Service said. A heat dome occurs when the atmosphere traps hot air “like a lid or cap,” according to the weather service, creating large areas of sweltering heat.

The recent hot weather follows a trend of increasingly warm starts to summer. Four of the five hottest Junes since 1895 have occurred in the past 10 years.

New records were set for maximum daily high temperatures this month in several cities, according to NOAA. St. Louis reached a new high of 99 degrees on June 13. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport hit 96 on June 15. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport notched 102 on June 20. Minneapolis reached 101 Monday, breaking the previous record for that day by three degrees.

Many cities experienced daily highs well above historical averages.

Current forecasts show extreme heat weakening across the South through the weekend, though high temperatures will linger along the Gulf Coast through next week, NOAA forecasts.