One of Earths most intense heat domes to hit East Coast, smashing temperature records

One of Earth’s most powerful heat domes will cover much of the Northeast and Midwest this week — smashing temperature records across the country.The scorching heat, forecast to push the mercury over 100 degrees, is set to envelop a 1,500-mile area stretching from the Dakotas to New Hampshire, beginning Tuesday and peaking along the Mid-Atlantic coast on Wednesday. New York City will just miss triple digits, topping out at 99 degrees Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.Temperatures in Baltimore and Atlantic City on Wednesday, however, will soar to a sizzling 102 degrees, while the mercury will top 101 degrees in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and Newark.The heat dome is rivaling a second intense burst of heat over northern Africa, making the two the strongest currently on the planet, the Washington Post reported.A heat dome is an atmospheric phenomenon formed by persistent high pressure that traps heat near the Earth’s surface, acting like a lid on a pot cooking on a stovetop.The dangerously high heat brought temperatures of 115 degrees to Montana on Sunday and 100 degrees to Michigan on Monday — as the weather pattern moved its way east.More than 110 million people in the Northeast are living in areas covered by heat alerts as of early Tuesday.The weather will also see swelteringly hot nights in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with temperatures barely dropping below 80 degrees.Extreme heat, humidity, and powerful winds have also stretched north of the border into Canada, where Thunder Bay, Ontario, recorded a record high of 102.4 degrees, while nearby wildfires darkened the skies with smoke.On Wednesday, the smoke is forecast to blow across the Great Lakes into the Northeast, potentially affecting air quality and bringing hazy skies in cities including New York, Buffalo, Detroit, and Minneapolis.“The smoke plume later tonight into Wednesday could be quite thick,” according to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York.Prolonged...