With extreme weather conditions sweeping across the United States, two major incidents have engaged the attention of the country: the formation of a heat dome over the Midwest area and the wake of the Tropical Storm Beryl that hit the Texas coast.
Midwest Awaits Worst Weather as Heat Dome Conditions Set In (Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A major weather threat looms over the Midwest, as a heat dome anchors itself in place. The phenomenon was characterized as a system of high pressure that does not allow warm air to rise from under itself, developing very high temperatures and humidity levels.
The upcoming pattern of weather will send several rounds of gusty storms along the edge of this shifting heat dome, meaning action for the north-central and Midwestern United States.
As the heart of the heat dome slides into the Great Plains and lower Mississippi Valley, meteorologists predict a constant parade of 100-degree heat through cities like Denver, with the mercury tapping toward the century mark around Kansas City by early next week.
The storms are forecasted to bring locally heavy rain and the potential for high wind gusts that can cause flash flooding, frequent lightning strikes, and even tornadoes.
Aftermath of Tropical Storm Beryl: A Trail of Devastation in Texas
Tropical Storm Beryl, which was a Category 5 hurricane-the earliest on record-made landfall in Texas, causing catastrophic damage.
It had weakened from a hurricane after it hit the coastal town of Matagorda, though not until after it came ashore at 4 a.m.CT with more than 80 mph sustained winds.The storm has reportedly killed at least four people in the aftermath of Beryl.
Heavy weather spawned by Beryl has generated flooding highways, and efforts for closing oil ports have been taken, flights were canceled, and power was knocked out to lots of over 2.7 million homes and businesses.
The National Hurricane Center said the current conditions could spawn tornadoes in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Houston Mayor John Whitmire said most of the city had been flooded with more than 10 inches, and first responders received a record number of calls to rescue people from life-threatening situations.
In Harris County, a man was killed when a tree smashed into his home, and a 74-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her home.
Also, one civilian employee of the Houston Police Department got caught in floodwaters on the way to work, and a second man was killed in a fire thought to have been ignited by lightning.
Recovery and Response Efforts
Cleanup from these weather events is underway. In Texas, officials evacuated the residents of an apartment building that was hit hard by the storm. People were relocated to local fairgrounds.
Beryl's maximum sustained winds fell to around 35 mph by 7 p.m. local time and the tropical depression is forecast to weaken to a post-tropical cyclone.
The storm is forecast to move through the Lower Mississippi Valley and into the Ohio Valley.With these dual threats upon the nation, attention turns now to safety and recovery.
Officials remain vigilant on this heat dome, which will turn into severe storms at any minute, while communities ridden by Tropical Storm Beryl begin picking up the pieces and learning to heal from its blow.
