Record Heat Builds Across the Northern Plains

The heat dome that is currently leaving the Southwest sweltering is forecast to shift to the north and then the east later this weekend. The movement of the core of the heat will bring the searing hot weather to the northern Rockies and the northern and central Plains in the days ahead. Read on for a look at just how hot it is going to get and where.

Temperatures Set to Soar Across Northern Rockies and Northern Plains by the Weekend

A shift in the position of an expansive area of high pressure currently over the Southwest will translate to triple-digit temperatures for parts of Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas by the weekend. Forecasters are warning that the heat dome will then expand farther into the Midwest by the middle of next week. Cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and Kansas City may see the hottest readings of the year thus far, coming in at 10 to 20 degrees above the historical average for the middle of July.

In the short term, the mercury will start to climb across places such as Salt Lake City on Friday, approaching the century mark at this time. Temperatures are forecast to hover around 105 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday in the largest city of Utah.

Many people typically head to Montana to beat the heat in July. Those visitors may be disappointed this weekend with highs nearing the century mark in Bozeman by Sunday. This is approaching record territory for this part of the northern Rockies.

Moving to the east, Fargo, North Dakota, will broil with highs in the mid 90s on Saturday. An abundance of sunshine and higher humidity levels will send the real feel readings into the triple digits in Fargo and other areas east of the Rockies. Sunday's forecast in Fargo calls for near-record highs, with temperatures around 98 degrees.