As the unrelenting heat wave in the US enters its 39th consecutive day, millions of people from California to Florida are wondering: When will it end?
The long-term forecast looks bleak. The extreme heat could continue into August in some of the worst affected areas and even a brief burst of cooler hope for some parts of the country heading into the weekend will only mean that new areas are suffocating as a heat dome slides west.
The first heat alerts went out on June 10 and more than 2,300 Heat records have fallen from Florida to California. This number will only increase as millions of people suffer from dangerous temperatures.
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Phoenix hit 110 degrees for a record-breaking 19th straight day on Tuesday. The temperature continued to climb to a new daily record high of 118 degrees, one of 20 record highs set yesterday. It then barely cooled overnight, and on Wednesday morning, the city set a new all-time high low temperature record of 97 degrees.
The longevity of this heat wave, combined with dangerously low overnight temperatures, are taking a toll on human health and infrastructure in Arizona. There were 12 confirmed heat-related deaths in Phoenix’s Maricopa County in the first week of July, and 55 deaths in the county are suspected to be heat-related and under investigation, according to data from the Phoenix County Department of Public Health. Maricopa.
“The heat is taking a toll,” Frank LoVecchio, an emergency room physician at Valleywise Health Medical Center in Phoenix, told CNN. “The hospital has not been this busy with overflow since some of the peaks of the COVID pandemic.”
The heat too turned deadly in California Saturday when 24-year-old Kai Torres Bronson died in San Diego County’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CalFire Capt. Brent Pascua told CNN.
Bronson and a group of other mountain bikers came to the aid of four hikers suffering from heat exhaustion on one of the park’s trails. The hikers were eventually airlifted off the trail and treated for heat illness after two of the cyclists went to the trailhead and called emergency services for help. Torres Bronson stayed with the hikers, but was later found unresponsive on the trail and died.
Heat is the number one killer of all extreme weather, data from the National Weather Service shows, and as temperatures continue to rise, scientists expect even more people to get sick.
The historic heat dome will change later this week
A huge and unrelenting stubborn ridge of high pressure has trapped air inland in one “heat dome” resulting in extreme temperatures as the dome parks over areas.
The heat will remain until a change in the weather pattern occurs and breaks the heat dome or moves it completely out of the country. This is not expected at any time.
Instead, the dangerous heat will continue this week, with more records being broken each day.
The desert southwest and Texas will continue to see daytime highs in the triple digits this week. High temperatures along the Gulf Coast and Mid-South will be in the upper 90s for the rest of the week, with heat indices as high as 120 degrees. Record warm low temperatures will provide little relief in what is normally the coolest time of the day.
Only the southern Plains and Gulf Coast could see some relief in the coming days as the heat dome moves back to the west and a cold front moves through the area. By the end of the week, many cities will, at least temporarily, emerge from the most intense heat.
Little Rock, Arkansas will go from a high of 99 degrees Wednesday to a high of 86 degrees Saturday. Oklahoma City will also go from triple digits on Wednesday to the mid-80s on Friday.
But that just means new areas as far north as Montana could see some serious heat starting this weekend. Temperatures in Billings, Montana will go from a high of 84 degrees on Wednesday to a high of 99 degrees on Saturday.
The extreme heat could last until August
The hot streak will continue into next week and potentially into August across the desert southwest, Texas and southern Florida.
The only hope for the Southwest is that sporadic Monsoon rain will bring some temporary relief, however, the overall temperature pattern will remain warm. Areas that see rain could see higher heat indices due to additional moisture and higher humidity coming in from Mexico.
According to the Climate Prediction Center, the greatest chance for above-normal temperatures over the next two weeks is in the Plains, parts of the South, including South Florida, and the Southwest, meaning temperatures should remain – you get hot, it’s just a matter of heat. will achieve
If this is true, the heat wave will be approaching two consecutive months, or more than 50 days, in these same areas.
