US heat wave: 100 million alerts from Phoenix to Boston

Extreme heat warnings or heat advisories cover many areas, including California’s Central Valley; Southwest from Las Vegas to Phoenix; San Antonio to Birmingham, Ala., on the south; and Myrtle Beach, SC, up the East Coast to Boston.

In Texas and Oklahoma, many locations are enduring a hot summer, with highs over 100 degrees expected in the near future. Both states reached 115 degrees on Tuesday, and although temperatures on Thursday were relatively low, they were still dangerous for vulnerable groups.

Major cities in the Northeast will feel 5 to 10 degrees warmer with Thursday near 95 degrees and suffocating levels. More scorching heat is forecast this weekend: Washington will hit 100 for the first time since 2016.

DC has Major Muriel E. Bowser A heat emergency has been declared in the city till Monday.

The American heat wave, in it Set at least 60 records, which culminated this week in a historic battle of exceptional temperatures, killing more than 1,000 people in Europe. Britain set a record-high temperature on Tuesday as several stations topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time.

Britain’s heat breaks records. Here’s what happened.

As summers get warmer, the trend toward increasingly severe and long-lasting heat events bears the fingerprint of human-induced climate change.

The country’s most intense heat is concentrated in the southwest on Thursday. National Weather Service warned Las Vegas is under a “high risk of heat-related illness,” with highs above 110 degrees forecast through Friday.

The weather service warned of “dangerous heat conditions” in Phoenix, where highs are forecast to be between 110 and 115 degrees. The city is also under A pollution advisory Because of high levels of harmful ground level ozone.

The maximum can be over 120 degrees Death Valley, Calif., through Saturday.

Heat waves are becoming increasingly hot. Here’s how to prepare.

Heat in Texas and Oklahoma

The heat in Texas and the Southern Plains has been unforgiving this summer, with San Antonio, Austin and Houston recording record highs. There is little sign of relief.

On Tuesday, every one of the Oklahoma Mesonet’s 120 weather stations recorded a high temperature of 103 degrees or higher for the first time. Mesonet has been in operation since the mid-1990s, which means the registration period is short. Regardless, the heat was blistering.

Oklahoma City hit 100 degrees on Wednesday and has hit the century mark for five days. It was the second such event since 2012 when it reached 110 on Tuesday. High temperature there are predicted Highs should be in the 90s or low 100s for at least the next week.

Mangum, Okla., hit 115 on Tuesday, while Wichita Falls, Tex. While bleaching, the temperature was still shy of 120 degrees on August 12, 1936 at Altus in southwest Oklahoma. Register.

About a dozen small wildfires have broken out in Oklahoma’s Red River Valley and north-central Texas, the largest of which is in Somervell County, southwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The Sag Mountain Fire has burned 6,339 acres since it broke out around 2:30 p.m. Monday. It contains only 10 percent.

Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Tulsa will stay at or above 100 degrees for at least the next week, while areas to the south and east – Houston, Little Rock or Shreveport, La. – will be in the upper 90s. Those subtle low air temperatures will be offset by more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, contributing to heat index values ​​in the 105 to 110 degree range.

Much of the region, from Louisiana and Arkansas to Georgia, is experiencing one of its 10 hottest summers, and temperatures will continue into early next week. Highs are forecast to be in the 90s to 100s, but pressing humidity levels will make sense in the 100s to 110s.

Birmingham, Ala., is under a heat advisory Thursday, with temperatures forecast to reach around 95 degrees. West Alabama could see highs in the upper 90s. While the daytime highs are not particularly impressive from a records standpoint, the overnight lows are.

“The low yesterday was 79 degrees [Wednesday] morning,” said Jason Holmes, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Birmingham. “Having a lower temperature at night — it’s harder on your body because you’re not cooling down.”

What does excessive heat do to the human body?

Warming in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Mostly heat and humidity are avoided This summer, but that’s changing quickly.

Temperatures are forecast to reach the 90s from Richmond to Boston on Thursday, with heat index values ​​in the triple digits.

Oppressive mugginess will return for the weekend, while humidity drops some Friday behind a weak cold front.

New York’s high will flirt with 90 degrees through Saturday, then climb into the mid-90s or higher on Sunday. Highs in Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia will be in the mid 90s Saturday through Sunday, approaching 100 degrees. Heat index values ​​can reach 105 to 110.

What causes heat?

Driving the heat is a ridge of high pressure called a “thermal dome,” which is centered in the southwest but curves eastward into the mid-Atlantic.

Beneath these thermal domes, air sinks and clears cloud cover while allowing the sun to beat down relentlessly. Above the heat dome is the jet stream, which represents the southern rim of cold weather.

The science of heat domes and how drought and climate change are making them worse

Over the weekend, the jet stream sinks toward the north-central United States and the Great Lakes, bringing cooler air to those areas. However, when cold air arrives, Strong to severe thunderstorms possible on Saturday.