A heat dome brought unusually high temperatures to parts of the central and southern United States in mid-September, NASA Earth Observatory reported on 17 September.

The agency’s account described an area of high pressure trapping warm air near the surface. A model combining satellite observations and atmospheric calculations showed the distribution of heat on 15 September.

NASA reported that more than 41 million people were under heat-related advisories, watches or warnings that day. The report concerns that episode, not the current forecast.

Source: NASA Earth Observatory · Source date: 2026-09-17.

File photo: Desert landscape at sunset (50733908043).jpg — Joshua Tree National Park. Wikimedia Commons original · Public domain. Resized; cropped in cards. Representative image, not a photograph of the reported event.