2023-06-29 01:22:00
As of this Wednesday, more than 31 million people were facing some form of excessive heat warning across the country on Wednesday, with temperatures of more than 115 degrees recorded in various parts of the US.
Residents of Mississippi and Tennessee might experience triple-digit temperatures, and California will face its first major heat wave of the year. Additionally, the National Weather Service warned that dry, hot and windy conditions were conducive to dangerous fires in parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.
Midweek temperatures were forecast to top 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius) across much of the Southeast and high humidity was expected to push heat index values above 115 degrees (46 degrees Celsius) in some areas.
A heat wave with deadly effects
Eleven of the heat-related deaths in Texas occurred in Webb County, which includes Laredo. The victims were between the ages of 60 and 80 and many had underlying health conditions, according to Webb County Medical Examiner Dr. Corinne Stern, who said the level of heat in the county was unprecedented.
The area has a higher poverty rate than the state average and that compounds the suffering, Stern said.
“The vast majority do not have air conditioning in their homes. Either they have the fans turned off or they have them on, but they don’t have proper ventilation,” Stern said. “There have been at least one or two that have air conditioning, but they don’t want to run it because of the bill.”
Also among the heat victims was a man who died Sunday night in Shreveport, Louisiana, the second heat-related death in the state in an unusually warm June.
At least 12 people have died in Texas due to heat wave: risk increases for older adults
The 49-year-old man from the neighboring city of Bossier was found lying on a sidewalk in Shreveport, where the temperature on Sunday reached 97 degrees (36 degrees Celsius), 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the average for the date.
The heat has prompted the US Postal Service to allow earlier start times for mail carriers, according to the Lonestar chapter of the National Mail Carriers Association. This comes following the death of a mail carrier who died on June 20 in near triple-digit heat. The cause of the carrier’s death was still under investigation on Wednesday.
A heat dome, the cause of high temperatures
According to experts, a heat dome is a large area of high pressure that traps heat beneath it, turning it into a kind of giant bubble of hot air. The phenomenon is described by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as trapping large amounts of warm air over a particular area for a long amount of time.
They happen when strong high-pressure weather conditions combined with La Niña influences create vast areas of sweltering heat that are trapped under a high-pressure dome.
A NOAA study determined that the current dome of heat afflicting the United States is the result of a sharp shift in sea temperatures from west to east in the tropical Pacific Ocean during the previous winter, producing a pressure imbalance that shifted the heat to the east.
Officials in several cities urged the public to stay indoors, save energy if possible, and make use of cooling centers that were opening around the state.
Preliminary figures from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the grid serving most of the state, indicated demand between 5 and 6 p.m. Tuesday surpassed the previous record set in July 2022.
What is expected in the next few days?
The dome is spreading to the east, so the hottest temperatures forecast for Thursday are in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. They might exceed 115 degrees throughout the region. On the East Coast, temperatures are expected to be in the 70s to 75s.
By Friday, more states are expected to experience temperatures of more than 115 degrees, including Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas. Temperatures in the Midwest range from 75 to 100 degrees.
Through Saturday, there will be highs in the northern US around 90 degrees and slightly less heat on the Gulf Coast, but South Texas is expected to see an increase, with temperatures forecast to hit 115 degrees in some areas.
Midwestern states can prepare for temperatures ranging from 80 to 95 degrees.
By Sunday, parts of South Texas and Florida might see increased temperatures, with areas forecast to see temperatures in excess of 115 degrees.
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