THE ANGELS — A long-lasting heat wave that has already broken previous records across the United States will persist, scorching parts of the West with dangerous temperatures soaring as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) and keeping the East in its hot and humid grip throughout the week, forecasters announced Sunday.
An excessive heat warning — the National Weather Service’s highest alert — is in effect for about 36 million people, or about 10% of the population, and temperatures in Oregon are expected to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) and reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 degrees Celsius) in parts of California on Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Jackson said.
“We expect a few dozen, in the mid-30s, to tie or surpass their daily record high temperatures” in the West and Pacific Northwest, Jackson said.
Scorching temperatures broke numerous records Saturday. Redding, California, recorded a high of 119 degrees Fahrenheit (48.3 degrees Celsius), shattering its all-time high of 118 degrees Fahrenheit (47.8 degrees Celsius). Ukiah, north of San Francisco, hit 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47 degrees Celsius) Saturday, breaking the city’s record for that date and tying its all-time high for any day of the year. Livermore, east of San Francisco, had 111 degrees Fahrenheit (43.8 degrees Celsius), breaking the daily high temperature record of 109 degrees Fahrenheit (42.7 degrees Celsius) set more than a century earlier in 1905.
Las Vegas tied its record of 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius) set in 2007; Phoenix hit 114 degrees Fahrenheit (45.5 degrees Celsius), just shy of the record of 116 degrees Fahrenheit (46.7 degrees Celsius) set in 1942.
Marko Boscovich said the best way to beat the heat in Las Vegas was to sit at a slot machine with a cold beer inside an air-conditioned casino.
“But you know, when it hits triple digits, I don’t care anymore,” said Boscovich, who was visiting from Sparks, Nevada, to see Dead & Company perform at the Sphere on Saturday night. “They might play one of my favorites, ‘Cold Rain and Snow.’”
On the wetter East Coast, temperatures were expected to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), although there were no excessive heat warnings in effect for the region on Sunday, Jackson said. On Saturday, Raleigh, North Carolina, hit an all-time record high of 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41.1 degrees Celsius), with a maximum heat index of 118 degrees Fahrenheit (47.7 degrees Celsius), he said.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check on relatives and neighbors,” an NWS advisory for the Baltimore area said. “Small children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.”
Heat records are broken in the Southwest
Rare heat warnings were issued even in high-elevation areas such as around Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border, and the NWS office in Reno, Nevada, warned of “high heat hazard impacts, including in the mountains.”
The service said in an online post that highs in western Nevada and northeastern California were not expected to dip below 100 F (38 C) until next weekend, “and unfortunately, there won’t be much relief overnight either.”
Indeed, Reno recorded a high of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, shattering the previous record of 38.3 degrees Celsius (101 degrees Fahrenheit).
More extreme highs were expected in the coming days, with a high of 129 degrees Fahrenheit (53.8 Celsius) on Sunday at Furnace Creek, California, in Death Valley National Park, and around 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius) through Wednesday.
The highest temperature ever officially documented on Earth was 56.67 °C (134 °F) in July 1913 in Death Valley in eastern California, although some experts dispute that figure and say the actual record is 54.4 °C (130 °F) recorded there in July 2021.
Deaths begin to rise
In Arizona’s Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year, along with more than 160 deaths suspected to be heat-related and still under investigation, according to a recent report.
That doesn’t include the death of a 10-year-old boy in Phoenix last week who suffered a “heat-related medical episode” while hiking in the mountains with his family at South Mountain Park and Preserve, according to police.
California fires fueled by heat and low humidity
Firefighters have sent planes and helicopters to drop water or retardant on several fires in California.
In Santa Barbara County, northwest of Los Angeles, the Lake Fire has burned more than 19 square miles (49 square kilometers) of grass, brush and trees. Fire officials said the blaze was showing “extreme behavior” and had “high growth potential” given the high temperatures and low humidity.
Festival beats the heat with cool water and shade
At the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, music fans coped with the weather by drinking cold water, taking shelter in the shade or cooling off under water sprinklers. Organizers of the weekend’s festival also announced free air conditioning at a nearby hotel.
Angelica Quiroz, 31, kept her hat and scarf wet and applied sunscreen.
“There is definitely a difference between shade and sun,” Quiroz said Friday. “But when you’re in the sun, it feels like you’re cooking.”
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