(Portland) About 130 million people were threatened Saturday by a long-lasting heat wave that has already set records for dangerously high temperatures. More records are expected from the East Coast to the West Coast, forecasters said.
The oppressive heat and humidity could combine to push temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in parts of the Pacific Northwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast, said Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
In Oregon, records could be broken in cities like Eugene, Portland and Salem, Asherman said. Dozens more records could fall across the United States, he said, forcing millions to seek relief from the heat at cooling centers from Bullhead City, Ariz., to Norfolk, Va.
“This is certainly a fairly abnormal event that we’re expecting here, and it looks like it’s going to continue at least through midweek,” Asherman said.
In the sweltering heat of Las Vegas, where the temperature reached 37.7°C at 10:30 a.m., Marko Boscovich said the best way to beat the heat was to sit in front of a slot machine with a cold beer in an air-conditioned casino.
Heat records broken in the southwest
Around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said the temperature had already reached 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix, where a record high of 110.6 degrees Fahrenheit was set Friday for this date of the year.
Meteorologists predict temperatures will be near daily records across the region for most, if not all, of the coming week, with desert temperatures reaching 110.6 to 120.8 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 to 48.8 degrees Celsius).
Rare heat advisories have been extended even to higher elevations, including around Lake Tahoe, with the National Weather Service in Reno warning of “major heat risk impacts, even in the mountains.”
“How hot are we talking about? Well, high temperatures (in western Nevada and northeastern California) won’t drop below 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit until late next week,” the service posted. “And unfortunately, there won’t be much relief the next day, either.”
A new daily heat record was set Friday in California’s Death Valley – one of the hottest places on Earth – with the mercury soaring to 52.8C. The previous mark of 50C was last matched in 2013.
The mercury in Palm Springs, California, hit 120.8 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday, breaking the city’s all-time high of 122.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
Extreme temperatures are expected in the near term, including 130.5 degrees Fahrenheit (53.8 degrees Celsius) on Sunday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, then around 130.5 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) through Wednesday. The hottest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 131.5 degrees Fahrenheit (56.67 degrees Celsius) in Death Valley in July 1913, though some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 131.5 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius), recorded there in July 2021.
The worst is yet to come in the West
The worst is yet to come across much of the West, with temperatures likely to be 8 to 16 degrees Celsius (46 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit) above average next week, the National Weather Service said.
The eastern United States was also bracing for warmer temperatures. Baltimore and other parts of Maryland were under an excessive heat warning, as heat index values could climb to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), forecasters said.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check on your family and neighbors,” a National Weather Service advisory for the Baltimore area said. “Small children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles.”