A record-breaking heatwave continued to spread its destructive grip across the central United States on Wednesday, with around 130 million people facing heat alerts in 22 states. Temperatures above 100F (37.7C) stretched south to states on the Gulf coast, with “brutal humidity levels” pushing the heat index as high as 120F (48.8C) in some areas. School officials in several states, including Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma, took drastic measures by closing classrooms or sending students home early in response to the sweltering heat.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a dire warning, emphasizing that the heatwave posed potentially deadly conditions, claiming that “heat is the number one weather-related cause of death in the US.” The agency urged people to take the heat seriously and avoid extended time outdoors, as temperatures and heat indices would reach levels that would pose a health risk and be potentially deadly to anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration.
Meanwhile, the tropical depression Harold continued to cause problems in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, where flooding prompted evacuations Tuesday night from homes, hotels, and a school near the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The NWS also warned of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, hail, and heavy rain expected in parts of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
Deadly Heat Grips Central US, Wreaking Havoc and DestructionThis week’s heatwave is just the latest in a summer of record-breaking heat, with July’s extreme temperatures reaching as high as 128F (53.3C) in Death Valley, California, the hottest place on Earth. Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization told that “with global warming, such temperatures are becoming more and more likely to occur.”
Heavily populated cities such as Chicago and New Orleans are expected to set or equal records on Wednesday and Thursday, with forecast highs of 99F and 100F, respectively. The NWS attributed the extreme conditions to a “huge dome of high pressure” building across the middle of the country, with little relief expected for the next two to three days.
President Joe Biden said he was sending federal personnel and resources to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to help with the aftermath of the tropical depression. Biden emphasized that “across the country, people are experiencing the devastating impacts of extreme weather worsened by climate change” and that his administration was taking action to bolster the country’s preparedness and support response and recovery efforts as peak hurricane season approaches.