What's a heat dome? Here's why so much of the US is broiling this week

FENTON, Mich. (AP) — With much of the Midwest and the Northeast broiling — or about to broil — in extreme summer heat this week, meteorologists are talking about heat waves and heat domes.

Both mean it's really hot — and people will hear those terms a lot more as the world heats up. What's the difference?

Here's what to know:

What's a heat dome?It's helpful to think of a heat dome as what's happening in the atmosphere. A heat wave is how that affects people on the ground, said Ken Kunkel, a research professor of atmospheric sciences at North Carolina State University.

When a high-pressure syst...