Heat Dome Broils the Western U.S.

A powerful heat dome settled over the northern Rockies and shattered all-time temperature records across Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. Miles City, Montana, recorded one hundred fifteen degrees Fahrenheit—breaking its decades-old record by four degrees. Billings hit one hundred eleven, Sheridan, Wyoming one hundred nine, and Salt Lake City the same, each topping records dating back to the nineteen hundreds or earlier. Per NASA, heat domes trap hot air at the surface and suppress clouds, allowing relentless solar heating. The health impact spiked immediately—emergency room visits for heat-related illness jumped tenfold across the Mountain states. NASA data shows summer heat waves across the U.S. have roughly doubled since nineteen eighty. Forecasters now expect the dome to spread east toward the Midwest in the coming days.

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