The Places Getting Crushed The Hardest By This ‘Heat Dome’

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They say it’s the humidity that really gets you and not the heat itself and as a born-and-raised Floridian who has lived and traveled all over, I can confirm that to be true. The ‘heat dome‘ that is sitting over the Eastern half of the United States right now and for the next few days will also drive that point about humidity home as it spikes the dew points everywhere east of Colorado.

For those who have always heard the term ‘dew point’ but still aren’t quite sure what it means, dew point refers to the temperature at which the air becomes fully saturated with water vapor (aka 100% humidity). Warm air can hold more water, and thus the dew point spiking along with temperatures can make it feel like you are living in a tropical rain forest.

When trying to map out which parts of the country are going to get slammed the hardest by this heat dome that could last for multiple days in most areas let us first take a look at the dew point weather map for 11pm tonight:

NOAA

Any dew point of 65°F or above is considered ‘noticeably humid’ and will create uncomfortable conditions. Dew points of 70°F are ‘very humid’ and can be described as downright miserable. For those who want to learn more, this video from meteorologist Todd Gross does a great job at explaining dew point:

Mind you, this is the dew point at 11pm tonight when things should be cooling down! But I’m using that map to show that part of the problem with this heat dome is there will be no overnight relief… Womp womp.

Now, here are the Apparent Temperature maps for Monday and Tuesday, aka the ‘feels like’ temps across the country. In these maps we really see which areas are going to get crushed the hardest:

NOAA

For today (Monday), cities like Chicago and Milwaukee will experience ‘feels like’ temperatures of 100 or more. Memphis and Richmond will feel like 105. Burlington, Vermont will feel like 102. These are truly suffocating temperatures for our cities that aren’t accustomed to experiencing heat like this.

And here is Tuesday:

NOAA

For Tuesday, pretty much all of North Carolina and Virginia are going to get hammered with suffocating heat and humidity. Philly and NYC will have ‘feels like’ temps over 100. So will most of the entire Eastern seaboard.

Inland, the pockets around Nashville and Memphis will appear to get hit the hardest. Raleigh, NC will feel like 110 while northern California will feel like a chilly 55.

The temperature disparity across the country this week caused by the heat dome will be wild and it is important to stay hydrated and stay out of direct sunlight whenever possible. Seek A/C and fans if you can and drink ample amounts of water. If you are already wondering how long this heat dome will last, meteorologist Todd Gross has a video about that here on TikTok.