On the East Coast, the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Baltimore are expected to feel the heat. High temperatures are also expected in the cities of Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Detroit, as well as in southern cities like Dallas, Texas; Little Rock, Ark.; and Memphis, Tenn.
Parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Tennessee have also been issued extreme heat warnings.
What’s causing the heat wave?
Weather experts say a “heat dome” is driving the heat wave. Heat domes refer to a high-pressure area in the atmosphere that extends a few miles upwards and traps hot ocean air. Such domes can usually last for days or weeks and usually affect large areas.
“Sometimes the pattern in the summer just gets stagnant like this,” Bryan Putnam from the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center told Fox News, adding that the humidity will compound the effect of the high temperatures on people.