America roasts under brutal heatwave: 100 million under heat warnings
America is roasting under a brutal heatwave, with over 100 million people under heat warnings as temperatures soar into triple digits nationwide. Tragically, at least two children left in hot cars have died as the sweltering June conditions persist across multiple states. Millions of people across the US were under heat warnings on Monday, with cities on the East Coast bracing for more record-breaking temperatures as the heat dome causing the dangerous conditions expands to the West Coast.
Baltimore and Philadelphia are forecast to touch records near 100F, while temperatures rise into the 90s in states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, as much as 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. The extreme heat are expected to shift towards Nebraska and Kansas on Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
Cities across the South and Midwest are expected to swelter on Monday - including Kansas City, Dallas, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Omaha and Houston, where heat indexes will reach as high as 110F. Officials warned of dangerous conditions in the Philadelphia region where high humidity could drive heat indexes above 105F, making it feel even hotter than the actual temperature.
Meanwhile, parts of the country from the Gulf Coast across the Plains and Midwest will see heat and humidity above 105F on Monday afternoon. South Dakota and Minnesota are also forecast to see triple-digit heat indexes. From Monday afternoon into Tuesday, the epicenter of the intense summer heat will move to central and southern parts of the county, hitting Oklahoma and Texas on Wednesday.
'It likely means we'll be seeing periodic periods of excessive heat across a decent part of the country into July,' NWS meteorologist Marc Chenard said. 'Not continuous at any one spot, but the overall pattern will continue to favor these above normal temperatures.' Temperatures have cooled in the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and New England regions, but excessive heat in the 90s F continues to stretch from Virginia to New York.
In Michigan, utility crews from several states were working feverishly Friday to restore power to thousands of suburban Detroit customers, two days after severe storms knocked out their power, leaving residents suffering amid a heat wave expected to linger through Saturday. In East County, San Diego, a tragic incident has residents mourning the death of a 2-month-old who was left in a car for several hours last week.
And across parts of Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, record-high temperatures were set over the past week. The San Diego Sheriff's Department is investigating the child's death, which occurred on June 13 in Santee. The distraught father briefly spoke to NBC 7 but declined to be interviewed.
Idaho officials said two people in their 60s have died of heat-related causes — the state's first heat-related deaths of the year. Health officials did not release additional information about the victims Friday, including where they died. A neighbor provided a recording captured by their Ring doorbell camera, showing multiple police officers and first responders arriving at the home on Settle Road, with flashing lights illuminating the tragic scene.
Climate change is driving dangerous heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere this week and will continue to deliver dangerous weather for decades to come, research shows. Extreme heat is suspected of causing hundreds of deaths across Asia and Europe as it has taken over cities on four continents. More than 1,000 have died during Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, amid sweltering temperatures this year, according to a Reuters tally.
In New Mexico, officials are responding to multiple weather events, including a dust storm, flooding and two wildfires. The Biden administration last week declared an emergency over the wildfires, which have been blamed for two deaths and more than 1,400 destroyed structures. The FBI has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of anyone responsible for the fires. The blazes have scorched 25,000 acres around the village of Ruidoso, according to the government wildfire tracking website Inciweb.
