High heat impacts region, nation
Extreme heat alerts affected tens of millions of people in the United States on Tuesday as cities including Chicago broke records at the start of a week of sweltering weather.
Midwestern states started to bake Monday in what the National Weather Service called a dangerous and long duration heat wave expected to stretch from Iowa to Maine until at least Friday.
Locally, forecasters are urging the public to be cautious because even though regional temperatures are expected to stay in the mid-80s through much of the week, they could climb to near 90 degrees and beyond by Friday.
The National Weather Service in Charleston predicted a high of 86 degrees on Juneteenth for the Beckley area and 89 degrees on Thursday. Temperatures could continue to climb Friday with a high of 91 degrees.
Hazardous weather outlooks posted by the Charleston weather center cautioned the public about heat-related health risks. People were urged to take safety precautions including staying hydrated, taking breaks in shade or air conditioning and watching for signs of heat stress.
Chicago broke a 1957 temperature record Monday with a high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 degrees Celsius). Hot and muggy conditions will continue this week with peak heat indexes near 100 F (37.7 C) at times, the National Weather Service in Chicago said in a post on the social platform X.
Last year, the U.S. saw the most heat waves — abnormally hot weather lasting more than two days — since 1936.
Much of the Midwest and Northeast were under heat warnings or watches, with officials opening cooling centers and urging people to limit outdoor activities when possible and to check in with family members and neighbors who may be vulnerable to the heat.
The heat has been especially dangerous in recent years in Phoenix, where 645 people died from heat-related causes in 2023, which was a record. Temperatures there hit 112 F (44.4 C) on Saturday. Weather service forecasters say the first two weeks of June in Phoenix were the hottest start to the month on record there.
A meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, Ted Whittock, advised reducing time outdoors between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., staying hydrated and wearing light, looser fitting clothing. More than 100 cooling centers were open in the city and surrounding county, including two new overnight ones.
In Southern California, firefighters increased their containment of a large wildfire burning in steep, hard-to-reach areas of mountains north of Los Angeles. But hot, dry, windy weather could challenge their efforts Tuesday. Wildfires also burned in New Mexico, prompting the evacuation of a village of 7,000 people.
The warming temperatures come amid growing concern about the effects of extreme heat and wildfire smoke. The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity sent a petition Monday to the Federal Emergency Management Agency asking it to recognize extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters.
The agency did not immediately issue a specific response to the petition. A FEMA spokesperson for the western U.S. states said there was nothing that would preclude an emergency declaration for extreme heat but noted that there would need to be an immediate threat to life and safety that local authorities could not respond to.
While much of the U.S. swelters, late-season snow was forecast for the northern Rockies, with parts of Montana and north-central Idaho under a winter storm warning. As much as 20 inches (51 centimeters) was predicted for higher elevations around Glacier National Park.
Meanwhile, a fresh batch of tropical moisture was bringing an increasing threat of heavy rain and flash flooding to the central Gulf Coast.
Hurricane season this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory.
