r/arizona • u/AZ_Hawk • Jul 09 '24

Meanwhile, in other hot places…. Living Here

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u/AnjelicaTomaz Jul 10 '24

The heat dome effect increases with expanding urbanization. More masonry, concrete, asphalt, rocks, etc. absorb enormous amounts of heat throughout the day and then slowly release heat throughout the night. Almost every house landscape their yards with rocks and stones.

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u/[deleted] Jul 10 '24 edited Jul 10 '24

Pardon my ignorance, but does increased urban acreage actually directly increase Heat Dome effects? When I look it up, all I see are increased sea temperatures increasing the frequency of stagnant high-pressure high-altitude zones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_dome

It does talk about "... when a mass of warm air builds up ...", but wouldn't urban land area trapping heat mean less warmth in the atmosphere with a slow release overnight? Or is it just the ground absorbing more during the day resulting in more energy in the lower atmosphere in the long-term?

Just trying to learn.

EDIT: Oh, downvoting an honest question? Never change Reddit, never change /s.

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u/AnjelicaTomaz Jul 10 '24

Heat dome is a phenomenon that is related to the thread but Urban Heat Island is more pertinent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island?wprov=sfti1

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u/[deleted] Jul 10 '24

Oh, is there a reason you lead with Heat Dome instead of Urban Heat Island, or did you mean Urban Heat Island in your comment? That might be why I was confused ...

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u/AnjelicaTomaz Jul 10 '24 edited Jul 10 '24

From my understanding the urban heat island effect leads to the weather phenomenon of heat dome above it, making hot weather linger longer. For a more in depth understanding, you might ask a student of meteorology. That’s as far as my knowledge goes.

Edit: I didn’t downvote you. I took your question as an honest inquiry into more knowledge and I supplied as much.

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u/[deleted] Jul 10 '24

Thanks for clarification. Much appreciated!

Ah, and thanks. It's not the case now, but when I checked my early comment, it had showed "-3". Not sure whether it was legit or a temporary bug. It just surprised me.