DALLAS — August is feeling like...August!
We're in a stretch of 100°+ heat in what is typically the hottest time of the year. Through August 14, the normal high is 97°, which is the highest of the year. Late July through the first couple weeks of August are usually when North Texas sees the hottest temps of the season. There's a reason August has a reputation for heat!
What is a "heat dome"?
But why is this time of year usually so hot and dry?
A weather pattern known as a "heat dome" usually entrenches itself overhead. "Heat dome" is just a nickname for what meteorologists call a high-pressure ridge.
That high-pressure forms in the upper atmosphere and causes sinking air underneath it. This contributes to plenty of hot air becoming stagnant within the heat dome. That sinking air also contributes to clear or mainly cloudless skies, preventing rain from cooling things off and allowing more sunshine to heat things up.
Heat domes can wander around the U.S. during the summer and can contribute to well above normal and very hot conditions in other parts of the U.S. besides Texas.
Given the way overall weather patterns usually set up in late July into August, a heat dome nearby or on top of North Texas is fairly common during that point in the summer.
What gets rid of a heat dome?
You need that high pressure to break down or be kicked out of the way by a stronger storm system. That can happen when a more powerful low-pressure system moves into an area that has been trapped under a high-pressure system.
As the U.S. loses daylight heading into fall and the average temp starts to decrease as well, storm systems and areas of low pressure moving across the country increase. Those low-pressure systems can move the heat dome away or cause it to drastically weaken. This also opens the door for cold fronts to move into the area and cool things off as well.
Unfortunately, there doesn't look to be anything that will get rid of the heat dome anytime soon. Temps could go up and down a little bit through mid-August in North Texas but no major cool-downs or rain chances.
