Record-breaking heat arrives for July Fourth weekend
By
Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated Jul 4, 2021 10:34 AM EDT
After a deadly heat wave smothered the Pacific Northwest over the past week, a dome of heat is moving eastward into the north-central United States through the Sunday, bringing record-breaking temperatures to some locations as drought rages on.
It has been a warm and dry June for many locations in the northern Plains and Midwest. Minot, North Dakota, and the Twin Cities region of Minnesota both had their second warmest Junes on record, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) office of Bismarck, North Dakota, and of Chanhassen, Minnesota. This was Bismarck's third-warmest June and also a dry one.
"Much of the northern Plains and Midwest will be dry with high pressure in place," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys, leading to above-normal temperatures across the northern Plains.
Minot reached 94 F on July 1, tying the record last set in 1937, and reached 97 on July 2, breaking the record set in 1935. On July 3, Minot went on to smash another record set in 2017 by rising to 100 F.
Glasgow, Montana, broke two records on Thursday. The high temperature of 102 broke the 1895 record high by 1 degree, and the minimum temperature of 70 F in the morning broke the previous 1921 record of 68.
Bismarck had the most impressive temperatures, when it reached 107 on July 3, breaking the record last set in 1881. Dickinson, North Dakota, wasn't too far behind either on July 3, with a temperature of 103 breaking its 1993 record.
Jamestown and Grand Forks were also among the cities that broke high temperature records on Saturday.
While the Midwest is not necessarily anticipated to reach record levels, a hot Fourth of July is in the forecast for the region.
Temperatures in Minneapolis have already been in the upper 80s for the past couple of days and can reach into the lower 90s over the weekend, with a forecast high of 94 F on July Fourth.
"A cold front will skirt southeastward from Alberta, Canada, across the Midwest," Roys said. This can temporarily dip temperatures down around the Great Lakes.
This front can trigger spotty thunderstorms in the northern Plains and a line of thunderstorms in the Midwest.
"Any rainfall from these storms will provide little to no help in curbing the ongoing drought in the northern Plains," said Roys.
Over 40% of the High Plains is in severe drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor. Bismarck received only about 50% of its average rainfall during the month of June. Dickinson reported only about 45% of its average rainfall in June, with Minot reporting 43%.
Governor Greg Gianforte declared a drought emergency across the state of Montana on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. About 60% of the state is in a severe drought, while nearly 93% is at least abnormally dry. Bozeman, Montana, had under 0.25 of an inch of rain total during June, which makes up 10% of the city's average rainfall amounts.
A similar statement was released earlier in the week by South Dakota, where 70% of the state is in severe drought.
Cities in the Midwest that had temperatures fall below normal on Thursday due to the cold front will endure a major increase in heat over the next couple of days.
On Thursday, O'Hare International Airport in Chicago reported a high temperature of 76 F, nearly 10 degrees below the normal high, which is in the middle 80s for early July. Temperatures on Sunday are expected to be in the lower 90s. A high of 92 is on tap for Independence Day in the Windy City.
Smoke from wildfires can also play a role in holiday festivities in the North Central states. There's a substantial reservoir of smoke incoming over the Great Lakes, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Benz.
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"I could see how the sky gets hazier for a lot of areas west of the Appalachians by Saturday afternoon," said Benz.
Smoke is not uncommon for parts of the Upper Midwest while wildfires burn in central Canada, but larger fires, including a deadly fire in Lytton, British Columbia, are blazing in the Pacific Northwest, which means thicker smoke.
"People in the North Central states can see a milky sky as air in the upper levels of the atmosphere bring it east from the Northwest," Benz said.
"If there was any decent cold air advection, you could actually pull that smoke down to the surface, but thankfully it looks like it all stays aloft through the weekend," said Benz.
Cold air advection is the movement of colder air toward a fixed point on a horizontal plane. As the air cools, it sinks, which would in turn transport smoke from high in the atmosphere down to the surface. In this situation, though, there is no mechanism to draw the smoke to a lower altitude.
"Residents are not likely to be able to smell the smoke since it won't reach the ground, but it can create picturesque sunsets," Benz said.
The reason for this is that particles of smoke and soot are larger than regular air molecules. Smoke will scatter the sun's light into reds and oranges. This is also why photographs of wildfire-adjacent areas show with an ominous orange-red filter.
"I don't think the smoke will affect firework viewing, as it should be well above anywhere fireworks are going off," said Benz.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather Forecasts
Record-breaking heat arrives for July Fourth weekend
By Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated Jul 4, 2021 10:34 AM EDT
After a deadly heat wave smothered the Pacific Northwest over the past week, a dome of heat is moving eastward into the north-central United States through the Sunday, bringing record-breaking temperatures to some locations as drought rages on.
It has been a warm and dry June for many locations in the northern Plains and Midwest. Minot, North Dakota, and the Twin Cities region of Minnesota both had their second warmest Junes on record, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) office of Bismarck, North Dakota, and of Chanhassen, Minnesota. This was Bismarck's third-warmest June and also a dry one.
"Much of the northern Plains and Midwest will be dry with high pressure in place," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys, leading to above-normal temperatures across the northern Plains.
Minot reached 94 F on July 1, tying the record last set in 1937, and reached 97 on July 2, breaking the record set in 1935. On July 3, Minot went on to smash another record set in 2017 by rising to 100 F.
Glasgow, Montana, broke two records on Thursday. The high temperature of 102 broke the 1895 record high by 1 degree, and the minimum temperature of 70 F in the morning broke the previous 1921 record of 68.
Bismarck had the most impressive temperatures, when it reached 107 on July 3, breaking the record last set in 1881. Dickinson, North Dakota, wasn't too far behind either on July 3, with a temperature of 103 breaking its 1993 record.
Jamestown and Grand Forks were also among the cities that broke high temperature records on Saturday.
While the Midwest is not necessarily anticipated to reach record levels, a hot Fourth of July is in the forecast for the region.
Temperatures in Minneapolis have already been in the upper 80s for the past couple of days and can reach into the lower 90s over the weekend, with a forecast high of 94 F on July Fourth.
"A cold front will skirt southeastward from Alberta, Canada, across the Midwest," Roys said. This can temporarily dip temperatures down around the Great Lakes.
This front can trigger spotty thunderstorms in the northern Plains and a line of thunderstorms in the Midwest.
"Any rainfall from these storms will provide little to no help in curbing the ongoing drought in the northern Plains," said Roys.
Over 40% of the High Plains is in severe drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor. Bismarck received only about 50% of its average rainfall during the month of June. Dickinson reported only about 45% of its average rainfall in June, with Minot reporting 43%.
Governor Greg Gianforte declared a drought emergency across the state of Montana on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. About 60% of the state is in a severe drought, while nearly 93% is at least abnormally dry. Bozeman, Montana, had under 0.25 of an inch of rain total during June, which makes up 10% of the city's average rainfall amounts.
A similar statement was released earlier in the week by South Dakota, where 70% of the state is in severe drought.
Cities in the Midwest that had temperatures fall below normal on Thursday due to the cold front will endure a major increase in heat over the next couple of days.
On Thursday, O'Hare International Airport in Chicago reported a high temperature of 76 F, nearly 10 degrees below the normal high, which is in the middle 80s for early July. Temperatures on Sunday are expected to be in the lower 90s. A high of 92 is on tap for Independence Day in the Windy City.
Smoke from wildfires can also play a role in holiday festivities in the North Central states. There's a substantial reservoir of smoke incoming over the Great Lakes, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Benz.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"I could see how the sky gets hazier for a lot of areas west of the Appalachians by Saturday afternoon," said Benz.
Smoke is not uncommon for parts of the Upper Midwest while wildfires burn in central Canada, but larger fires, including a deadly fire in Lytton, British Columbia, are blazing in the Pacific Northwest, which means thicker smoke.
"People in the North Central states can see a milky sky as air in the upper levels of the atmosphere bring it east from the Northwest," Benz said.
"If there was any decent cold air advection, you could actually pull that smoke down to the surface, but thankfully it looks like it all stays aloft through the weekend," said Benz.
Cold air advection is the movement of colder air toward a fixed point on a horizontal plane. As the air cools, it sinks, which would in turn transport smoke from high in the atmosphere down to the surface. In this situation, though, there is no mechanism to draw the smoke to a lower altitude.
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"Residents are not likely to be able to smell the smoke since it won't reach the ground, but it can create picturesque sunsets," Benz said.
The reason for this is that particles of smoke and soot are larger than regular air molecules. Smoke will scatter the sun's light into reds and oranges. This is also why photographs of wildfire-adjacent areas show with an ominous orange-red filter.
"I don't think the smoke will affect firework viewing, as it should be well above anywhere fireworks are going off," said Benz.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo