Mother Nature is officially flipping the script for the rest of July. While the East finally takes a break from the recent brutal and deadly heat wave, a massive new heat dome is now building out West. FOX Weather Meteorologist Craig Herrera breaks down what this means for the rest of the country:
After the Eastern half of the country endured a brutal and deadly heat wave, Mother Nature has decided to flip the script. Through mid-month, the Western half of the U.S. will bake as a new heat dome builds.
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This will in turn potentially bring cooler and stormy weather to the East, while triple-digit heat looms for portions of the West.
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Through mid-July, the ridge will shift eastward across the Rockies and into the central Plains.
The sinking air underneath the center of high pressure will act like a giant lid on the atmosphere, trapping hot air at the surface.
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“This setup is identical to what the East recently experienced, but it could last much longer,” the FOX Forecast Center said.
The most severe, triple-digit heat will center directly over the Desert Southwest, pushing afternoon temperatures to extreme levels in places like Phoenix and Las Vegas.
A man walks near the Las Vegas strip during a heatwave in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 7, 2024.
(Robyn Beck / AFP)
However, as the heat dome expands its northern and eastern flanks, highs will easily climb into the upper 90s and low 100s across cities like Salt Lake City and Denver.
Although it is too early to pinpoint specific records, the FOX Forecast Center said numerous daily highs are expected to be broken.
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The National Weather Service has already issued a major HeatRisk across many states heading into this weekend and will likely expand in coverage next week.
Warm weather can lead to everything from heat exhaustion to heat stroke.
(National Weather Service Sacramento / FOX Weather)
Additionally, stagnant, low-wind conditions underneath the core of the heat dome will trap heavy smoke from ongoing wildfires, potentially leading to severely degraded air quality and thick, hazy skies across the Rockies and High Plains through the middle of the month.
(FOX Weather)
The extreme heat may even spark additional fires as vegetation dries out further across a region already experiencing widespread drought conditions.
Conversely, as this new heat dome anchors itself firmly over the West and Central Plains, it will alter the atmospheric flow downstream, potentially bringing cooler or near-average days to the East.
HOBOKEN, NJ – MAY 20 A thunderstorm passes over the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on May 20, 2026, as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey.
(Gary Hershorn / Getty Images)
This pattern change also opens the door for increased chances of rain and storms across the eastern states.
Stick with FOX Weather for your latest forecast updates.
