Extreme Summer Weather Events

Be prepared for summer’s hot, dry weather and the hazards it often brings -- sometimes the planet's deadliest natural disasters.

By Ed Brotak
Updated on June 22, 2022
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by Adobestock/Smulsky

Consider heat wave dangers as the onset of summer brings higher temperatures. As heat index over 105 creates extreme heat hazards, and precautions must be taken.
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As the dog days settle in over North America, we often have to deal with extreme summer weather events, such as heat waves and droughts. Although these are distinct events, heat waves do tend to occur when conditions are dry, and drought in summer is associated with high temperatures.

Heat waves and droughts also have the same meteorological parentage, an upper-level ridge of high pressure thousands of feet above the Earth’s surface. A ridge is a huge mound of warm air that effectively blocks storm systems from bringing precipitation. The air sinks, warming and drying as it descends to the ground, and few clouds block the sun’s hot rays. For heat waves, the ridge moves out in a matter of days. For droughts, the pattern is more permanent; often, one ridge may dissipate only to be replaced by another. This pattern of extreme summer weather events can persist for months or even years.

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