AP Photo/Eric Gay, File
A heat dome over Northern Mexico, which brought record temperatures to Florida and parts of the Gulf Coast, is on the move.
“That strong area of mid-level high pressure has shifted Northwestward over the past few days. So, currently, the heat wave is focused over the Southwest,” said Brad Pugh, a meteorologist with the Climate Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
While that is good news for Houston and Southeast Texas, a La Niña pattern will make it dryer and more drought-prone. The warmer Gulf waters are also making for a more active hurricane season.
Meanwhile, the Southwestern United States to California’s Central Valley will feel the effects of higher-than-normal temperatures and the potential for setting new heat records.
For Houston, it doesn’t necessarily mean a break from stifling temperatures, according to Pugh. “For the seasonal temperatures as a whole, June, July, August, we are expecting temperatures to be above seasonal average.”
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The Climate Prediction Center tracks drought conditions.
Pugh said it comes down to modeling and trends to get an accurate picture of how drought conditions are shaping up. “If you have a going drought, say, in California, during the summer, which is typically dry, you’d expect that drought to persist over the next few months.”
What Houstonians are looking to avoid is extremely hot days. During the last drought, heat indexes rose, and temperatures peaked putting Houston on par with weather in more arid and hot places like Phoenix, Arizona. This includes asphalt melting on streets, and roadways buckling. In Phoenix, bridge expansion can become so extreme that bridges can buckle and railroad tracks deform as they expand and push the other rail out of alignment.
Water main breaks are also a problem when the heat is at its highest, as well.
For now, the heat dome is headed northwest toward West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. But that doesn’t mean things are going to cool down much over the next few months.
