(Austin) Nearly 400,000 customers were without power in the southern United States midday Monday, as the region was swept by an intense heat wave.
Officials have warned that some subscribers may not be reconnected for a few days.
In parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, the heat was accompanied by downpours, strong winds, thunderstorms and hailstones.
By early Monday afternoon, the poweroutage.us site listed some 205,000 outages in Oklahoma, 85,000 in Texas, 80,000 in Louisiana and 40,000 in Mississippi. A few tens of thousands of customers were also in the dark in Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida.
Hot, humid weather was predicted Monday across the southern United States, with mercury expected to top 35 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service.
Severe heat alerts have been issued in several areas of Louisiana and Texas, and several cities have opened air-conditioned shelters.
The mercury was predicted to surpass 37℃ in Austin and San Antonio, Texas on Monday.