The Lakeway Area is expected to experience its hottest stretch of the year so far as it experiences the effects of a “heat dome” that is settling over much of the country.

National Weather Service meteorologist Doug Schneider, based out of Morristown, said temperatures will begin climbing Monday, with highs in the low 90s before reaching the mid 90s Tuesday and Wednesday. He said forecasters expect the heat to ease somewhat by the Fourth of July weekend, but it’s too early to know how much relief the region will see.

“It’s going to get pretty hot next week,” Schneider said, but said there was a chance the heat could fade a bit. “It does look like the large highpressure ridge that sits over us next week that causes this heat might start to shift away by the Fourth of July.

AccuWeather expert meteorologist Dan Pydynowski described the heat phenomena that will blanket the country with a heat expected to reach 100 degrees in some places.

“A heat dome is a sprawling area of high pressure that creates hot and humid conditions for days or weeks at a time,” he said. “Heat domes can prevent clouds from forming, resulting in abundant sunshine that boosts temperatures, potentially toward record levels.”

The heat dome is expected to set up early next week, and will span from Texas to Pennsylvania, Florida to Minnesota.

As forecasters work to predict weather patterns next week there is a chance of strong thunderstorms on the edges of the heat dome that could be significant.

“With heat and humidity nearby, any clusters of thunderstorms that develop can produce damaging winds, resulting in downed trees, power outages, and other damage. Intense thunderstorm clusters can even form into a derecho, a long-lived and significant windstorm,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said. “The risk of thunderstorm clusters with damaging winds may be highest next Tuesday or Wednesday.”