LAS VEGAS — About 130 million people were threatened by a prolonged heat wave last weekend and next week that broke or equaled records with dangerously high temperatures According to meteorologists, the storm is expected to spread from the East Coast to the West Coast.
Ukiah, north of San Francisco, reached 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47 degrees Celsius) on Saturday, breaking the city record for that date and tying the highest temperature ever recorded. Livermore, east of San Francisco, reached 111 degrees Fahrenheit (43.8 degrees Celsius), breaking the daily high record of 109 degrees Fahrenheit (42.7 degrees Celsius) set more than a century ago in 1905.
Las Vegas tied the record high of 115°F (46°C), last set in 2007, and Phoenix reached a high of 114°F (45.5°C), just shy of the record high of 116°F (46.7°C) set in 1942.
The National Weather Service said the extreme heat warning for much of the Southwest has been extended through Friday.
“A dangerous and historic heat wave has just begun in the area, with temperatures expected to peak Sunday through Wednesday,” the National Weather Service in Las Vegas said in an updated forecast.
In Las Vegas, where the mercury rose to 37.7 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) at 10:30 a.m., Marko Boscovich said the best way to beat the heat is to sit behind a slot machine with a cold beer in an air-conditioned casino.
“But you know, once it gets to triple digits, it’s all the same to me,” said Boscovich, who was visiting from Sparks, Nevada, to attend a Dead & Corporate concert Saturday night at the Sphere. “They might play one of my favorites — ‘Cold Rain and Snow.’”
In wetter parts of the country, temperatures could soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in parts of the Pacific Northwest, the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, said Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist with the weather service.
Meteorologists predicted that temperatures in the region would be close to daily records for most of the coming week, if not all of it, with highs in the desert reaching 46.1 to 48.8 degrees Celsius.
Rare heat warnings were even extended to higher elevations, including around Lake Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border, with the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, warning of “high heat risks, even in the mountains.”
“How hot is it? Well, high temperatures in (western Nevada and northeastern California) won’t be below 100 degrees (37.8 C) until next weekend,” the service reported online. “And unfortunately, there won’t be much relief tonight either.”
In Reno, a high of 40 degrees Celsius was reached on Saturday, breaking the old record of 38.3 degrees Celsius.
Even more extreme temperatures are expected soon, including 129 F (53.8 C) on Sunday in Furnace Creek, California, in Death Valley National Park, and then around 130 F (54.4 C) through Wednesday.
The highest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 in Death Valley, in eastern California. Some experts dispute this measurement, saying the real record was 130 F (54.4 C), recorded in July 2021.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in the West are likely to reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit, between 46 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit higher than average over the next week.
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,” reads a National Weather Service warning for the Baltimore area. “Young children and pets should not be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.”
In Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year, along with more than 160 other deaths suspected of being heat-related that are still under investigation, a recent report found.
That does not include the death of a 10-year-old boy last week in Phoenix who suffered a “heat-related medical event” while hiking with family at South Mountain Park and Preserve, police said.
Firefighters sent planes and helicopters to drop water or fire retardant against a series of wildfires 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 wood. Fire officials said the blaze was showing “extreme fire behavior” and had “potential for large growth” with high temperatures and low humidity.
At the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, music fans coped by drinking cold water, seeking shade or cooling off under spray. Organizers of the weekend party also advertised free access to air conditioning at a nearby hotel.
Angela Quiroz, 31, kept her scarf and hat wet and applied sunscreen.
“Certainly a difference between the shade and the sun,” Quiroz said Friday. “But when you’re in the sun, it feels like you’re cooking.”
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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.