A person sits in Washington Square Park dressed for hot and humid temperatures in New York City on May 19. Warm temperatures are expected to return to the region. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The heat dome that scorched parts of the West last week will focus across the Mississippi Valley into the mid-Atlantic and Southeast this week ahead of Labor Day weekend.
Daytime highs will soar as much as 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit above historical averages through the first few days of September. Temperatures will reach well into the 90s and could approach 100 degrees in Raleigh, North Carolina, and St. Louis. Meanwhile, highs will top out in the 90s in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
Individuals are urged to stay hydrated and limit prolonged strenuous activity, especially during the midday and afternoon hours, when the sun's intensity is greatest.
While shower and thunderstorm activity will be sparse through late week near the center of the heat dome, the northern rim of that heat dome will be an active zone for showers and thunderstorms. Almost daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms are forecast from the northern Plains through the Midwest and central Appalachians to New England.
