Carlos Sandoval and other construction workers work in temperatures that were over 100 degrees F (37 degrees C) as they install new sidewalk infrastructure in downtown Palm Springs, California, U.S. July 11, 2023. (Jay Calderon/USA Today Network via Reuters)
LUBBOCK, Texas--A prolonged heat wave blanketed a swath of the U.S. stretching from California to South Florida on Wednesday, with forecasters expecting temperatures that could shatter records in parts of the Southwest in the coming days.
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat advisories, watches and warnings for areas in which about 100 million Americans reside. The sweltering conditions are expected to remain through the weekend and beyond. While stifling temperatures gripped many parts of the country, Vermont and other Northeastern states began cleaning up from historic flooding triggered by intense downpours linked by climate experts to global warming. In Las Vegas, Wednesday's midday temperature reached 101 degrees F (38 C) and the daily high could top out at 108 degrees. The desert city's all-time high mark of 117 F (47 C) could topple on Sunday, the weather service said. Tiffany Boscoe, owner of The Jolt Coffee Co in downtown Las Vegas, said many customers were coming in for an iced drink and to get out of the scorching heat. "The cold brew goes fast and people order lots of blended iced drinks," she said. "We have a computer center and WiFi, so people tend to hang out." In Phoenix, where thermometers read 100 F at midday, the high could reach above 110 F (43 C) for the 13th successive day. The forecast puts the city's daily highs above 110 F at least through next Wednesday, which would shatter the record of 18 days above that mark set in June 1974. At the family-owned Six Points Hardware store in Phoenix, fans and air conditioner units have been flying off the shelves, said store manager Drew Materniak. The heat means "business is good," he said, noting the biggest seller has been large cooling fans, sold largely to businesses like auto shops that can't air condition. "Just stay inside man, just stay inside," was Materniak's advice for dealing with the heat. Forecasters urged people facing the extreme heat, especially children and the elderly, to keep out of the unrelenting sun, to reschedule strenuous outdoor activities and to drink plenty of fluids during the next several days. "Heat stroke can lead to death," the weather service warned. A ridge of stagnant air parked in the atmosphere was causing the excessive temperatures, said Ashton Robinson Cook, a forecaster with the weather service's Weather Prediction Center. The mass blocks cooler air and storm systems from rolling through the area, so it's "just full sun and heat," he said. In Texas, most will see temperatures in the upper 90s to above 100 F (37 C) on Wednesday, while the heat index will make it feel like 114 F (46 C) in some places through the weekend. Warm ocean water is causing the moist, humid air over much of the state that drives the heat index higher, Cook said.
