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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A starkly divided weather pattern is shaping up across the United States for the Fourth of July , with a sprawling heat dome threatening to scorch the West and Texas while scattered thunderstorms risk disrupting holiday celebrations from the Great Plains to the East Coast.
With millions of Americans preparing for outdoor parades, concerts, and fireworks displays , the holiday forecast carries heightened stakes. Meteorologists warn extreme heat and sudden storms could force cancellations or alter plans for communities nationwide.
According to an AccuWeather forecast, a massive heat dome will build over much of the country in the days leading up to Independence Day, sending temperatures into the 90s and triple digits. While the core of the heat dome bakes the East, weather systems tracking along its outer edge are expected to trigger widespread, unsettled weather elsewhere.
The holiday weekend will present distinct regional challenges, according to meteorologists.
In the West, hot and dry conditions are forecast for California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and parts of Arizona. The extreme heat arrives at the peak of the summer wildfire season, raising fears that holiday fireworks could ignite fast-moving blazes in parched vegetation. In response to similar conditions in previous years, local officials across the West have routinely implemented fireworks bans or canceled public displays to mitigate fire risks.
"Building drought and dry thunderstorms over the interior West will boost the risk of wildfires ," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Chad Merrill said in a report. "Smoke from the large fires may become a factor downwind from the Rockies to the Plains and perhaps the Midwest."
Warm and dry conditions are also expected across Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, western Minnesota, northwestern Iowa, and northern Nebraska, as well as southern Texas and southwestern Louisiana.
Conversely, the most favorable holiday weather is expected to settle over the Midwest and parts of the mid-Atlantic. Forecasters predict "mainly dry" and comfortable conditions across portions of Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The improved weather comes after a heat dome pushed the heat index well past 100 degrees in some of these states.
"The Ohio Valley and the Northeast on the Fourth of July looks like the best weather in terms of having better opportunities to be dry and not too hot of conditions," Merrill told Newsweek .
Conditions will be less ideal further south and west. A broad swath of the central U.S., the Southeast, and portions of the East Coast face a threat of thunderstorms that could drench outdoor gatherings. The Upper Midwest also could see some rain, but Merrill said it would be spotty in nature.
Because summer weather systems can shift rapidly, meteorologists advise holiday travelers and event organizers to closely monitor local updates. Public safety officials also urge residents to check municipal guidelines regarding fireworks restrictions.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Anthony Murray .
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