The worst of the intense heat that has been smothering the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions this week is forecast to pass by late Saturday, but many in the southern US are expected to face oppressive temperatures for a few more days as heat-related mortality soar.
According to the National Weather Service, more than 100 million people in more than 20 states ranging from California to Massachusetts are under heat warnings. However, the majority of the notifications are set to expire Saturday night. During the day, though, temperatures will remain high.
“Many places are set to break temperature records for daytime highs as well as warm nighttime lows through Saturday morning,” the National Weather Service said, adding that some areas in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic can expect their warmest temperatures of the year so far.
As the heat wave extended over most of the country, dangerously high temperatures killed people in Arizona, Illinois, and Texas, with humidity also having a part in compounding the physical effects on humans, animals, and plants.
Experts agree that human-caused climate change is a major contributor to record-breaking temperatures, and experts predict that July will be the planet’s hottest month on record.
Heat indices – a measure of how hot it feels on the skin when relative humidity is taken into consideration – are forecast to be between 100 and 110 degrees Saturday across sections of the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and Northeast.
However, some relief is on the way: on Sunday, a cold front will move over the mid-Atlantic, bringing an end to the heat wave for much of the East Coast.
Meanwhile, the Southwest is anticipated to continue hot for several days before cooling off. Phoenix’s days-long string of highs above 110 degrees may come to an end on Sunday, while Las Vegas is predicted to have highs above 100 degrees until early next week. Another heat wave is forecast to hit the South and Gulf Coast early next week.
Here are some of the ways the heat wave has affected towns around the country:
Heat-related deaths are on the rise in the United States: In Illinois, a 53-year-old woman died Thursday in her Peoria apartment, which lacked air conditioning due to a power outage, according to the Peoria County coroner’s office. According to the coroner’s office, she died as a result of “an exacerbation of her chronic medical conditions due to the excessive heat in the apartment.” A 66-year-old woman died early Tuesday from heat exhaustion after being rushed to a hospital from her flat in North Richland Hills, according to police.
A county in Arizona is preparing for an influx of deaths: Maricopa County, Arizona, has installed ten chilled containers to handle a potential overflow of heat-related deaths. The containers haven’t been used yet, but the medical examiner’s office is at capacity, according to a county spokesman who talked to CNN affiliate KTVK/KPHO. As of Monday, the county, which includes the state’s most populous metropolis, Phoenix, has already reported 25 heat-related deaths this year. Dozens of other deaths were being investigated for a possible connection to heat.
Heat warnings: An excessive heat warning is in effect for Washington, DC, and sections of Maryland and Virginia, as well as St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday. Heat advisories are in effect for Philadelphia, New York City, and Newark, New Jersey.
This week’s excessive heat has taken its toll on Tennessee’s animals. Authorities rescued 21 dogs from a garage and a concrete shed-like structure on the property of a Lawrenceburg residence that was deemed “unfit for human or animal lodging,” according to the Lawrence County sheriff. The temperature was in the 90s, and the dogs had no food or drink. The canines were taken away from the property and treated.
This week, some cactuses died in a Phoenix botanical garden due to high temperatures, and state officials reported emergency department admissions for acute heat burns after someone fell to the ground.