The sweltering heat wave gripping parts of the U.S. has shattered heat records and sparked an air quality health advisory, and it is now suspected of having contributed to at least seven deaths.
As NBC News reports, more than 130 million people across the West, the East Coast, southeast Texas and South Florida were under heat alerts Tuesday, and a huge swath of the Western U.S. sweltered in “red flag” conditions because of the risk of wildfires.
Western States See Temps Soar, Breaking Records and Causing Deaths
At least seven deaths in the Western region are suspected of having been caused by the extreme heat, officials said. Five people have died in Oregon since Friday, and the Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office stated that those deaths are being investigated as possibly being heat-related.
In Death Valley, California, where temps skyrocketed to a record-breaking 129 degrees, a motorcyclist died of suspected heat exposure and another was hospitalized for severe heat illness Saturday. Another man, Kevin Gerhardt, of Sacramento, died Sunday because of the heat, NBC affiliate KCRA of Sacramento reported.
Parts of California were under excessive heat warnings until Friday night. Forecasters warned that the Sacramento Valley will have high temperatures of 105 to 113 degrees.
Salt Lake City was under an excessive heat warning until midnight Saturday, with highs of 100 to 105 degrees each afternoon, the weather service said.
In Skagit County, Washington, the surface of the road actually buckled because of the searing temperatures. Crews over the weekend fixed what they referred to as “the heat heave,” the state Transportation Department said.
The hot weather is expected to break across the Pacific Northwest by Thursday and the West by the weekend. The heat and humidity, however, will remain for the East throughout the rest of the week and into the weekend.
On Tuesday, Las Vegas flirted again with the all-time temperature record of 120 F (48.8 C) reached on Sunday, but settled for a new daily mark of 119 F (48.3 C) that smashed the old one of 116 F (46.6 C) set for the date in 2021.
It was so hot in Phoenix on Tuesday that the low at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was forecast to be 91 degrees. It was 115 degrees there at around 5 p.m., and on Monday, Phoenix’s recorded 118-degree temperature broke an all-time record high for July 8. The previous record for that date, 115 degrees, was set in 1985, the weather service said on X.
Heat records will continue to be broken over the next few days, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, which said high temperatures will 10 to 30 degrees above average.
Heat Index is the Problem for Southern and Eastern States
In other parts of the country, the problem is not so much the temps, but the heat index.
“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity”. That’s a partly valid phrase you may have heard in the summer, but according to the National Weather Service (NWS), it’s actually both. The heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature. This has important considerations for the human body’s comfort. When the body gets too hot, it begins to perspire or sweat to cool itself off. If the perspiration is not able to evaporate, the body cannot regulate its temperature. Evaporation is a cooling process. When perspiration is evaporated off the body, it effectively reduces the body’s temperature. When the atmospheric moisture content (i.e. relative humidity) is high, the rate of evaporation from the body decreases. In other words, the human body feels warmer in humid conditions.
According to the NWS, in New York City’s Central Park, the heat index made it feel like 96 degrees. At Newark Liberty International Airport in nearby New Jersey, the number was 103. In the metro New York City and Lower Hudson Valley area, an air quality health advisory was also in effect this week. The NWS has also has issued Excessive Heat Warnings for Washington D.C., Baltimore, southern Maryland, and parts of northern Virginia. Heat index values were expected to reach up to 112 degrees on Wednesday.
In Houston, Texas, where Hurricane Beryl has left over 1.7 million people without power – a situation that could take weeks to resolve – forecast high temperatures were forecast to be in the mid-90s. When you factor in the humidity that makes it feel up to 105°.
Until the current heat wave subsides, experts say to avoid heat related illness, you should:
- Reduce or eliminate outdoor activities.
- Listen to your body and take breaks in the shade.
- Hydrate with water and electrolytes.
- Take advantage of cooling centers in your area, which are being powered by generators in areas without power.
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