Tens of millions in the US are under dangerous heat warnings
PHOENIX — Extreme heat warnings continued Tuesday for tens of millions of people in the United States, as cities like Chicago broke records at the start of the month. a week of sultry weather.
States in the Midwest Started baking on Monday in what the National Weather Service called a dangerous and prolonged heat wave that was expected to extend from Iowa to Maine at least until Friday.
On Monday, Chicago broke a temperature record set in 1957 with a high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 degrees Celsius). Hot and muggy conditions will continue this week with peak heat indexes near 100 F (37.7 C) at times, the National Weather Service in Chicago said in a post on social platform X.
The heat didn’t stop people in Chicago’s Grant Park from ordering the hottest dishes on the menu at the food truck where Emmanuel Ramos is a chef. WBBM-TV reports this.
“They order the best things on the hottest day,” he said. “They order ramen and corn – they just want everything to be hot. I don’t know why,” Ramos said. “Right now, smoothies would be good.”
The US saw the most heat wavesconsisting of abnormally warm weather lasting more than two days, since 1936. Officials warned residents to take precautions.
Much of the Midwest and Northeast were under heat warnings or watches with officials announcing the opening of cooling centers and urging people to limit outdoor activities where possible and contact family members and neighbors who may be vulnerable to the heat.
The heat has been particularly dangerous in Phoenix in recent years, where 645 people died from heat-related causes in 2023, which was a record. The temperature there reached 112 F (44.4 C) on Saturday. Weather service forecasters say the first two weeks of June in Phoenix were the warmest start to the month on record.
A National Weather Service meteorologist in Phoenix, Ted Whittock, recommended reducing time outdoors between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., staying hydrated and wearing light, loose-fitting clothing. More than 100 cooling centers had opened in the city and surrounding province, including two new overnight cooling centers.
In Southern California, firefighters have been battling a large wildfire in the mountains north of Los Angeles on Monday after a weekend of explosive, wind-driven growth along Interstate 5.
Warming temperatures are accompanied by growing concerns about the effects of extreme heat and wildfire smoke. The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity sent a petition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday asking it to recognize extreme heat and smoke from wildfires as major disasters.
The agency did not immediately provide a specific response to the petition. A FEMA spokesperson for the western US states said there would be nothing to prevent an emergency declaration due to extreme heat, but noted there would have to be an imminent threat to life and safety to which local authorities could not respond.
While much of the U.S. is sweltering, snow was forecast for the northern Rockies Monday through Tuesday. Parts of Montana and north-central Idaho are under a winter storm warning. As much as 20 inches (51 centimeters) was forecast for higher elevations around Glacier National Park.
Meanwhile, a new load of tropical moisture brought an increasing threat of heavy rains and flash flooding to the central Gulf Coast.
Hurricane season is predicted to occur this year one of the most active in recent memory.
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