PORTLAND, Oregon — About 130 million people were threatened on Saturday and next week by a prolonged heat wave that has already broken records with dangerously high temperatures — and more storms are expected from the East Coast to the West Coast, meteorologists said.
According to Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, oppressive heat and humidity could cause temperatures to rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the Pacific Northwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
In Oregon, records could be broken in cities like Eugene, Portland and Salem, Asherman said. Dozens of other records could fall across the U.S., Asherman said, sending millions of people seeking relief from the heat in cooling centers from Bullhead City, Arizona, to Norfolk, Virginia.
“It’s certainly a fairly unusual event that we’re expecting here, and it looks like it’s going to continue at least through mid-week,” Asherman said.
At the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, music lovers could brave the heat on Friday by drinking cold water, seeking shade or refreshing themselves under a water mister.
Angela Quiroz, 31, kept her scarf and hat wet and applied sunscreen to protect herself from the heat at the music festival.
“Certainly a difference between the shade and the sun,” Quiroz said. “But when you’re in the sun, it feels like you’re cooking.”
A new daily heat record was set Friday in California’s Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth. The previous high was broken by 5 degrees Fahrenheit, with the mercury rising to 127 Fahrenheit (52.8 C). The old record of 122 Fahrenheit (50 C) was last equaled in 2013.
Even more extreme temperatures are forecast soon, including 129 degrees F (53.8 degrees C) on Sunday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, and then around 130 degrees F (54.4 degrees C) through Wednesday. The highest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 degrees F (56.67 degrees C) in Death Valley in July 1913, though some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 130 degrees F (54.4 degrees C), recorded there in July 2021.
There was also a record high for the date of 118°F (47.7°C) in Phoenix, where highs of 115°F (46.1°C) or warmer were forecast through Wednesday. In Needles, California, where the National Weather Service has records going back to 1888, the high of 122°F (50°C) surpassed the old record of 121°F (49.4°C) set in 2007. It was 124°F (51.1°C) in Palm Springs, California.
The worst was yet to come for much of the West, with temperatures likely to be 30 degrees or higher (between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius) above average over the next week, the National Weather Service said.
The eastern U.S. was also bracing for higher temperatures. Baltimore and other parts of Maryland were under extreme heat warnings, as heat index readings could reach 110 F (43 C), meteorologists said.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check on family members and neighbors,” the National Weather Service advisory for the Baltimore area reads. “Young children and pets should not be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.”
In Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths have been reported this year, and more than 160 other suspected heat-related deaths are still under investigation, according to the county’s most recent report.
That does not include the death of a 10-year-old boy earlier this week in Phoenix who suffered a “heat-related medical incident” while hiking with family at South Mountain Park and Preserve, police said.
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Associated Press reporter Julie Walker contributed from New York. Boone reported from Boise, Idaho, and Sonner reported from Reno, Nevada. Associated Press reporters Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina; John Antczak in Los Angeles; Rio Yamat in Las Vegas; Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; and Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia contributed.