America's Extreme Heat Wave and Heat Dome (2025)

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the deep dive. If you're anywhere across well
huge parts of the United States right now, you are
absolutely feeling it. Today, Tuesday, June twenty fourth, twenty twenty five,
much of the country is just grappling with this oppressive
and frankly dangerous extreme heat warning. This is not just
another warm spell. It's really shaping up to be one
of the most significant weather events of the summer, posing

(00:21):
serious health risks and you know, really challenging infrastructure everywhere
it hits. Right, and think of this deep dive as
your shortcut to getting genuinely well informed on this critical
weather event that's unfolding right now. You'll walk away understanding
not just what's happening, but the sort of deeper atmospheric
why behind it all and why it matters so much

(00:44):
to well your daily life. So let's unpack these terms,
starting with the one that sounds a bit like, I
don't know, science fiction heat dome. What are we really
talking about there?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
It really does sell like sci fi, doesn't it, But
it's very real and actually becoming more common. Heat own
forms when you get this persistent ridge of high pressure
air that basically traps heat over a specific area, Like
imagine a giant invisible lid just placed right over a region.
And this isn't just any high pressure moving through. It's
a system often influenced by a specific pattern in the

(01:16):
jet stream that just gets stalled, stuck, and it acts
like a cap pushing warm air downwards. As that air sinks,
it compresses and that compression heats it up even more.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
So it's not just warm air, it's air getting like
superheated as it's forced closer to the ground.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
So it's like a giant convection of it. But instead
of baking bread, it's just cooking everything underneath it.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
That's a pretty good analogy. Actually. Precisely and crucially, this
persistent high pressure stops other weather systems from moving in,
you know, things like refreshing storms or cooler air masses.
They just can't break through.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Ah.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
So that leads to these long periods of clear skies
and really intense sunshine. The trapped superheated air then just
recirculates constantly, making the already score temperatures even worse. It's
almost like a greenhouse effect happening right there in the atmosphere.
Heat gets in, but it really struggles to get out.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
That makes it very clear. So if the dome is
the lid trapping the heat, where does the heat wave
part come in? Are they always linked like this?

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, a heat wave is actually a simpler definition. It's
just a period of unusually hot weather that lasts for
more than two days. And unusual isn't a fixed number, right,
It depends on the local climate, but basically it means
temperature significantly above the historical average for that specific time
of year. And as you probably guessed, heat waves are
very often associated with heat domes because that dome provides

(02:40):
the perfect underlying conditions for sustained, sometimes record breaking heat.
One really enables the other.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Gotcha. So, given that trapped superheated air you just described,
what are the immediate impacts we start to feel when
a heat dome and a heat wave combined like this?
What are the key consequences for us under that invisible lid.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, you see several critical effects kicking in. First, obviously,
you get these incredibly high daytime temperatures, often hitting or
going over ninety degrees fahrenheit and frequently breaking one hundred
and many spots. Second, especially in the eastern and southern US,
you're dealing with high humidity, and that moisture in the
air makes those already high temperatures feel even hotter. That's
what we measure, is the heat index, or the feels

(03:24):
like temperature, And the reason for that, scientifically is that
the humidity makes it harder for sweat to evaporate from
your skin, and evaporation is our body's main way of
cooling down.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
So it's not just the heat itself, it's our body
struggling to cool off that makes it feel so much worse.
That makes total sense exactly.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
And here's where it gets really dangerous. The warm overnight
temperatures the heat dome prevents significant cooling when the sun
goes down. This lack of relief means our bodies and
even our buildings in infrastructure don't get a chance to
properly cool downmadically increases the health risks. We just don't
get that break.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, that's tough.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
And lastly, that high pressure system often leads to stagnant air,
which means pollutants get trapped near the ground that causes
poor air quality, adding another layer of health concerns, especially
for people with respiratory issues like asthma.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
It really is a compounding problem, isn't it. So let's
talk specifics. Where is this lid currently sitting over the US?
What areas are really feeling the worst of it right
now in late June twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Okay, so this current heat wave really started ramping up
in mid June, and it seems to be peaking right
around now June twenty it's the twenty fourth. The exact
boundaries do shift a bit day to day, but its
core has generally been centered over the Central Plains and
the Mississippi Valley, and it's extending eastward from there towards
the Ohio Valley and even into parts of the Northeast.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
In which regions are really bearing the brunt. Are we
talking specific states or cities?

Speaker 2 (04:54):
The Midwest, for sure has been hit incredibly hard. States
like Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, also parts of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska.
They're seen the most severe conditions. We've seen reports from
cities like Saint Louis, camov there has been covering it extensively,
and also Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit. They're all experiencing those triple

(05:15):
digit heat in disease.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
The South is also really feeling it Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky,
and it's even pushing down into North Texas and Oklahoma.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
I've heard reports about the Northeast too. Even if the
absolute thermometer reading isn't quite as high as the Midwest,
it still feels awful. Is that right?

Speaker 2 (05:33):
That's absolutely spot on. Yeah. While the thermometer might not
consistently hit one hundred degrees in say New York or
Pennsylvania or New Jersey, the high humidity there is making
conditions feel exceptionally oppressive. It's triggering widespread heat advisories and
warnings across that region too. Across all these affected areas,

(05:54):
temperatures have consistently soared into the mid to upper nineties fahrenheit.
But those heat index values feels like temps. They've frequently
been over one hundred and five degrees fahrenheit, and in
some localized spots they've even reached or surpassed one hundred
and fifteen degrees.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
That's just brutal. And like you said, those overnight temperatures
are a huge part of why this is so dangerous.
My air conditioner is definitely working overtime, right, now I'm
sure yours is too.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Absolutely, the overnight lows have just stayed stubbornly high, often
in the upper seventies or even low eighties in many places,
and that provides very little, sometimes no, physiological relief for
anyone stuck in the heat. It's a really critical factor
in heat related illnesses, because your body just doesn't get
that chance to recover overnight. It's why weather agencies, you know,
the National Weather Service, they're issuing continuous excessive heat warnings

(06:41):
and heat advisories. They're urging extreme caution because numerous daily
temperature records are being broken or are expected to be challenged.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
It's clearly a very serious event. But beyond just the discomfort,
heat waves are often called a silent killer. Why that term?
What makes them so uniquely deadly compared to say a
hurricane or a flood, which are much more visually dramatic.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
That's a really important question about how we perceive risk,
isn't it? Heat Waves are startlingly among the deadliest natural
phenomena we face. Did you know that in the US
heat waves actually cause more deaths annually than floods and
hurricanes combined.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
I did not know that.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Wow, Yeah, their impact is just far less visually dramatic. Right,
You don't see the immediate destruction like a tornadoes bind,
but the toll on human health can be immense precisely
because it's less visible and often builds up over days.
It's progressive.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
That's a really sobering statistic. So what are the main
health risks we need to be really aware of, especially
for people who might not recognize the signs right away.

Speaker 2 (07:42):
Okay, the most common one is probably heat exhaustion. The
symptoms to look for are things like heavy sweating, skin,
feeling cold and clammy, maybe a fast but weak pulse,
nausea or vomiting, muscle cramps, feeling really tired or dizzy,
and headaches. It's serious on its own, and if you
don't treat it get cool hydrate, it can absolutely progress

(08:04):
to something much more dangerous, heat stroke and heat stroke.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
As you mentioned, that's the real medical emergency, requires immediate action.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
That's the crucial distinction. Yes, with heat stroke, you're looking
at a body temperature of one hundred and three degrees
fahrenheit or higher. Their skin might be hot and red
near the dryer. Damp pulse is usually fast and strong.
Other signs are headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, and even losing consciousness.
It's absolutely critical to understand that heat stroke can lead
to permanent disability or even death if it's not treated immediately,

(08:37):
like call nine one one immediately. Beyond those two, just
the rapid fluid loss through sweating leads to dehydration, which
can worsen everything else and also put extra strain on
people with pre existing conditions right like.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Heart problems or breathing issues.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
Exactly, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, kidney disease, diabetes. Extreme heat
can really exacerbate those underlying conditions.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
And certain groups of people are unfortunately much more vulnerable
to all of this. Who should we be most concerned
about checking in on during these heat waves, that's.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
A key point. Those that significantly higher risk definitely include
the elderly, infants and young children, people with chronic illnesses,
anyone who has to work outdoors, and perhaps most critically,
people who don't have access to reliable air conditioning. For
these groups, even heat that might seem just uncomfortable to
others can quickly become life threatening.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
So given all these serious risks, what can you the listener,
do right now to stay safe and protect yourself and
your loved ones during this kind of extreme heat.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
Well, public health officials and local news outlets like KMOV
and Saint Louis we mentioned, they're all pushing out vital
safety info. The absolute number one recommendation is stay hydrated.
Drink plenty of water, even if you don't feel thirsty.
It's surprisingly easy to get dehydrated without realizing it, especially
if you're not active right and try to avoid sugary drinks, alcohol,

(10:00):
and too much caffeine. Those can actually make dehydration worse.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
And seeking out air conditioning seems like the simplest, most
effective step.

Speaker 2 (10:06):
Really, it truly is potentially life saving. Spend as much
time as you possibly can in air conditioned environments. If
your home isn't cool enough, look for public cooling centers. Libraries,
shopping malls, community centers often open their doors for this.
Check your local government website. Also, try to limit strenuous
outdoor activities, especially during the haunt of parts of the
day that's usually between about ten am and four pm.

(10:29):
If you absolutely have to work outside, take frequent breaks,
find shade, get into ac if possible. Your body needs
that downtime to cool off.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
Good advice for anyone who has to be outdoors. What
about just simple things like clothing. Does that make a
real difference?

Speaker 2 (10:44):
It absolutely does. Yeah, opt for clothing that's lightweight, loose fitting,
and light colored. This helps your body regulate its temperature better.
Sweat can evaporate more easily, and light colors reflect sunlight
instead of absorbing. It makes sense, and this is a
big one. Please regularly check on vulnerable individuals elderly neighbors, friends,

(11:04):
relatives who might be isolated or you know, don't have
good ac They often need help recognizing the danger signs
or just getting somewhere cool. A quick phone call or
visit can make a huge difference.

Speaker 1 (11:14):
And that critical reminder we hear every summer, but honestly,
it can't be said enough. Never ever leave children or
pets in parked cars.

Speaker 2 (11:22):
Oh a thousand times. Yes, never. Temperatures inside a parked
car can skyrocket the deadly levels incredibly fast, even on
a day that doesn't seem that hot, or if the
windows are cracked, it can become lethal in just minutes. Yeah,
and finally, just empower yourself by knowing the symptoms, be
aware of the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke,

(11:43):
both for yourself and for others around you. If you
suspect heat stroke, don't hesitate, seek medical attention immediately. Knowing
those signs really can save a life.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
Okay, So beyond the immediate health dangers, this kind of
extreme heat also puts immense strain on our infrastructure, doesn't it.
What's the sort of ripple effect there? Often unseen by
most of us until it directly impacts us.

Speaker 2 (12:04):
Yeah, if we connect this to the bigger picture, the
strain is significant across multiple sectors. Power grids field immediately
that huge demand for air conditioning causes massive spikes and
electricity consumption. This strains the grid, sometimes to the breaking point.
It can lead to brownouts, actual blackouts, or at least
calls from utility companies for voluntary energy conservation. Sometimes they

(12:27):
even have to implement rolling blackouts just to prevent a
total grid collapse.

Speaker 1 (12:31):
I can imagine transportation suffering too. Roads must get incredibly hot,
pavement buckling they do.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
Roads can buckle from the extrain heat. Railway lines can warp,
which is dangerous for trains. Even airport runways can develop
issues with the tarmac softening. All of that leads to
travel delays, disruptions, repair costs. It adds up, and then
there's agriculture. Crops can suffer huge damage from both the
heat stress and often accompanying drought conditions That impacts yields,

(12:59):
which can and eventually lead to higher food prices. Livestock
are also really vulnerable to heat stroke, which means further
economic losses for farmers. It's just a whole domino.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
Effect, and water resources must take a serious hit too,
especially in places already dealing with dryness.

Speaker 2 (13:13):
Precisely prolonged intense heat can make drought conditions much worse.
It depletes water reservoirs needed for drinking water and irrigation,
and it significantly increases the risk of wildfires, which often
go hand in hand with these hot, dry periods. Ultimately,
all these factors strained grids, transport issues, agricultural losses, water stress,

(13:35):
they combine to impact economic productivity overall. Think about reduced
capacity for outdoor work, increase healthcare costs from heat illnesses,
even just general discomfort making people less productive. It becomes
a huge drag on local and regional economies.

Speaker 1 (13:49):
So stepping back even further, this isn't just a one
off bat weather event. It feels incredibly consistent with these
larger patterns. We keep hearing about what's the bigger picture
here regarding long term trends and climate change, and how
much do our climate models tell us about what's coming.

Speaker 2 (14:03):
Well, what's really crucial to understand here is that the
increasing frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves like this one,
it's highly consistent with climate change projections. There's an overwhelming
consensus among climate scientists that a warning planet will lead
to more extreme weather events, and that definitely includes more
severe heat waves. Okay, our current climate models, which are

(14:26):
constantly getting better and more refined, have actually been projecting
this kind of trend for years now, and unfortunately, we're
seeing those projections align more and more closely with the
observed reality.

Speaker 1 (14:37):
So while we know, you know, you can't point to
any single weather event and say that that was caused
only by climate change, it definitely feels like the pattern
of these events is aligning with the scientific predictions. It's
the overall trend that really matters.

Speaker 2 (14:51):
That's exactly the key takeaway. Yeah, well, we can't attribute
this specific heat dome, this specific week solely to climate change.
The observed trend is undeniable. Hotter summers, more frequent heat waves,
more intense heat domes. It aligns perfectly with what the
climate models have been telling us to expect for a
long time. It's part of a larger pattern we're seeing
not just here but globally, and it really underscores the

(15:14):
urgency of well addressing these long term trends.

Speaker 1 (15:17):
So, wrapping this up, what does this all mean for you,
our listener, as you navigate not just this current heat wave,
but look ahead to future summers.

Speaker 2 (15:27):
Well, we've taken a pretty deep dive today into how
these heat domes and heat waves actually work those intricate mechanisms.
We've explored the immediate dangers they pose to health, and
we've talked about their broader impacts on society and infrastructure.
So hopefully you now have a much more comprehensive understanding
of what creates these extreme weather events and why they're
so significant. It gives you the context to really understand

(15:49):
the headlines and the warnings when you see them exactly.

Speaker 1 (15:52):
You're now hopefully well equipped to not just understand what's
unfolding outside your window, but why it's so critical to
take and as these extreme heat events likely become more
frequent and maybe even more intense, it leaves us with
a really important question to ponder, doesn't it. Beyond the
immediate safety measures we discussed, what innovative, long term solutions

(16:13):
and societal adaptations will be most crucial for our communities.
How do we build resilience and ensure public safety in
the face of this changing reality in the years to come.

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