How do heat domes create extreme and persistent hot weather?

A heat dome is like a giant blanket that traps hot air and keeps it from escaping, making the weather really hot for a long time.

Imagine you're wearing a thick wool sweater on a sunny day. The sun warms your body, but the sweater stops the heat from going away, so you feel even hotter. That’s what happens with a heat dome, except instead of a sweater, it's a big bubble of warm air that sits over a place like a lid on a pot.

A heat dome forms when high-pressure air above a region acts like a lid, pushing down and trapping hot air near the ground. This air gets even warmer because it can’t escape, and the sun keeps shining down on it, it's like being in a sauna with no way out!

This trapped heat makes temperatures rise quickly and stay high for days or even weeks. People feel like they're baking outside, just like cookies in an oven.

Once the heat dome is strong, it’s hard to break through, kind of like trying to push a heavy lid off a pot. The hot air stays in place until something changes, like a big storm or cooler air moving in. Until then, the heat just keeps getting stronger and stronger!