Most of western and central Europe is on track to experience a dangerous heat wave over the next week, allowing temperatures to soar up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit above average for several days beginning on Wednesday. This level of heat is extremely dangerous in this part of the world due to the lack of air conditioning in many homes across the region.

As we saw this past weekend in the western part of North America and the two weeks before that in the southeastern United States, a ridge of high pressure will be the cause of all the trouble. This time around, the ridge is developing in between two troughs—a classic example of a feature called an Omega Block, if you’re thirsting for nerdspeak today—and every location caught under the center of the Omega Block is in for a rough couple of days.

This deep ridge will allow the heat and humidity to settle in through the weekend at the least, and the temperatures will be toasty.



The above animation shows where this morning’s run of the GFS model places high temperatures each day from Wednesday through Sunday, illustrating how the heat wave will migrate east through Europe each day. The worst temperatures on the continent will unfold over the Iberian Peninsula, with highs well above 100°F likely just about each day during the major heat wave.