Is the ‘Heat Dome’ Headed to the Midwest Next?

How about that summertime weather out west! Yes, the smokin' hot weather that has been plaguing the western 1/4th of the nation. It's been crazy hot with all-time highs from California to Oregon. Not just hot, but blazing' HOT!  Las Vegas had a record high earlier this week as well. 117 I believe. Over 130 in Death Valley. Yep, the hottest place on earth was the hottest it's ever been. Accuweather.com reported; 

On Friday, the temperature at Death Valley soared to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the previous daily record high of 129 sets back in 1913, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). This mark fell just 4 degrees shy of the highest temperature ever measured on Earth, which was set in Death Valley on July 10, 1913.

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So, what gives with this heat dome, they're talking about and what is a 'heat dome' anyway?  According to National Ocean Service;

Imagine a swimming pool when the heater is turned on — temperatures rise quickly in the areas surrounding the heater jets, while the rest of the pool takes longer to warm up. If one thinks of the Pacific as a very large pool, the western Pacific’s temperatures have risen over the past few decades as compared to the eastern Pacific, creating a strong temperature gradient, or pressure differences that drive the wind, across the entire ocean in winter.

Here's where it gets tricky. Many residents in Seattle and other areas don't have air conditioning in their homes. Imagine what it would be like trying to get some sleep in a house after it warmed up over the daylight hours. It's not just the pacific northwest. California, New Mexico, and Arizona are blazing hot too.

If you're like me, you look at the weather out west and wonder how long it will take to get here to the Midwest. Many times if you watch the weather you can say, it'll be here in a day or so. That hasn't been the case thus far, in fact, we've had a pretty pleasant couple of weeks here in South Dakota, but you can't help but wondering if we're going to have a HOT finish to July here in the Midwest. We'll wait and see!