Record-smashing heat spreads: 'Basically the entire US is going to be hot'

by SETH BORENSTEIN, March 23, 2026

"After smashing March heat records in 14 states and the U.S. as a whole, the gigantic #HeatDome that's baked the Southwest is creeping eastward and may end up being one of the most expansive heat waves in American history, meteorologists and weather historians said.

"And it's not going away for awhile, maybe not till the middle of the next week as April starts, said meteorologist Gregg Gallina of the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center."

[..]

"The physical area of this heat wave likely dwarfs two other historic heat waves — one in 2012 in the Upper Midwest and Northeast and another in 2021 in the Pacific Northwest — according to weather historian Chris Burt, author of the book '#ExtremeWeather.' It may not be as large as the #DustBowl #HeatWaves of 1936, but that was a series of heat waves over two months during summer, not a single big event like now, Burt said."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/record-smashing-heat-spreads-basically-the-entire-us-is-going-to-be-hot/ar-AA1ZeTzM?

#USWx #Heatwave #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming

Climate-Fueled Heat Waves Are Creating a Water Crisis in the Southwest

https://murica.website/2026/03/climate-fueled-heat-waves-are-creating-a-water-crisis-in-the-southwest/

“The gigantic heat dome that’s baked the Southwest is creeping eastward and may end up being one of the most expansive heat waves in American history”

https://apnews.com/article/record-heat-climate-warming-arizona-california-11dcebf8ba88cfcd3fd9bc1144a5df10

#Heatwave #HeatDome #USA #Climate #ClimateCrisis #Weather #Heat

#SevereWeather #HeatDome #AZwx #INwx #PAwx #HIwx

From ABC News.com: Record temperatures bake the West as heat sickens hundreds at air show

https://abcnews.com/US/400-people-sickened-arizona-airshow-record-heat-bakes/story?id=131300971

#SevereWeather #HeatDome #ClimateChange

From NBC News.com: The West's record-shattering heat wave isn't over, as heat dome shifts into the Plains

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/heat/blistering-heat-wave-across-western-us-rcna264506

Just another lovely day living in the #ClimateCatastrophe and yes, those numbers are Celsius, not Fahrenheit... (translates to +34℉ above average and "feels like" 101℉)

#Heatwave #SanDiego #ClimateEmergency #March2026Heatwave #ClimateCrisis #SouthernCalifornia #HeatDome

Record-shattering March temperatures in Western North America virtually impossible without climate change

The #heatwave poses a significant public health threat, particularly given its timing early in the season. The persistent #HeatDome is creating stable atmospheric conditions, suppressing cloud formation and precipitation, while allowing temperatures to climb, thus expected to cause persistent #heat. #ExtremeHeat is the leading cause of weather-related fatalities in the US. Limited overnight cooling and the lack of air-conditioning is expected to add to the heat stress, particularly for vulnerable populations in these parts who are not acclimatised to the heat, including tourists from cooler countries (CNN, 17 March 2026). This heat dome is breaking records for this time of the year, and is in some ways comparable to the persistent system that caused the 2021 Pacific Northwest (PNW) Heatwave. The PNW event occurred later in the year, in June, with temperatures of up to 48.9℃ (120℉) causing hundreds of fatalities (BBC, 17 March 2026).

https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/record-shattering-march-temperatures-in-western-north-america-virtually-impossible-without-climate-change/

#ClimateScience
#WeatherAttribution
#ClimateCrisis