Above, clean up in Highmore, South Dakota.
Is this just the opening shot?
Below, YouTube Meteorologist Max Velocity discusses the storm, and the setup for coming days as a giant heat dome settles over the Eastern US.
Below, more on “Ring of Fire” configuration.
RING OF FIRE pattern really ramps up into the July 4 weekend. A bit of something for everyone. And yes, it’s really called that.
The “ring of fire” gets it name because storms form a “ring” around our heat dome. Beneath the heat dome, expect extreme heat and humidity with 100-105 degree air temperatures and 110-112º+ heat index values. Combining tropical humidity with triple-digit heat isn’t good. Heat advisories, watches and warnings are in effect.
The most humid air will be in Iowa and Illinois. That’s where “corn sweat” season is underway. Dew points in the mid to upper 70s are fluxing an incredible amount of water into the air. As we head into the mature corn season, a single acre can “sweat” (evapotranspirate) 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of water daily! That water enters the lower atmosphere, making the humidity even worse AND leading to more storm fuel.
The heat dome is also deflecting the jet stream north. Storm complexes will form on the periphery of the warm, humid air mass and surf the jet stream southeast. Some of these storms will tap into jet stream energy and produce destructive 60-75 mph gusts. By late week, we may have to bring the storm zone south a bit.
As if that’s not bad enough, we have growing fire danger over the Four Corners and Intermountain West! Rapidly-spreading fires have occurred as dry air crashes south atop gusty winds nestled in a broad jet stream dip. Relative humidities have plummeted below 10 percent in some places!
This pattern will intensify into the weekend.