Wyoming faced record temperatures as a heat wave passed over the state beginning last week. The heat set records in towns like Greybull, Powell, and Laramie. It also set off fire warnings in Cheyenne and Wheatland.
It was a result of a heat wave that had been moving west, breaking records as it traveled, and reached Wyoming last week.
Micheal Natoli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cheyenne, said this summer heat wave is caused by a ridge of high pressure, the center of which found itself over the Western half of Wyoming.
“Sometimes, in the media, they call it a heat dome. But that high pressure in the upper atmosphere and where the center is located kind of determines where the most intense heat tends to occur,” he said.
According to Natoli, the dome has since moved south, hovering over Colorado, New Mexico, and North Texas. However, Natoli said that the intense heat may circle back around to Wyoming.
“It is actually going to kind of retreat to the West in the next few days, over the course of the week ahead. So, this is going to lead to some of the strongest heat going back towards the Great Basin area,” said Natoli. “This heat dome is probably not really going to go anywhere for the near future, it'll just shift back and forth.”
As a consequence of the heat, Natoli said high winds, thunderstorms, and an elevated fire risk are likely for parts of Wyoming. Namely, the eastern portion of the state.
“[When the] rain evaporates, before it hits the ground, it cools,” said Natoli. “And then you have this bubble of cool air that's cooler than the surrounding environment, which accelerates towards the ground now. So, you get these gusty downburst winds that occur with these thunderstorms. So that's the primary threat for the next few days, and of course lightning.”
Despite high temperatures predicted into next week, Natoli said that there could be some cooler relief as other weather systems move in.
"We're still gonna be above normal, for most of the week ahead. But we will have a few more cold fronts come down the eastern side of the Rockies and cool things off,” he said.