With more than 59 million people under various heat warnings on Saturday, the hot weather was expected to continue unabated in the coming days.
The weekend’s sweltering conditions affected cities including Los Angeles, Seattle and Las Vegas in the West, and in Raleigh, North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and New York in the East.
“A firm upper ridge” brought a “widespread, long-lasting heat wave” to the West, where temperature records could be tied or broken over the weekend, the weather service said. Temperatures between 90 and 110 are likely along the coast and in parts of the Great Basin.
“These conditions will be extremely dangerous and potentially deadly if not taken seriously,” the service warned. “The multi-day nature of the heat and record overnight temperatures will cause heat stress to accumulate in people without adequate cooling and hydration.”
An all-time record temperature of 124 degrees was already reported on Friday in Palm Springs, California, according to the weather service field office in San Diego. The previous record was 123 degrees.
On Saturday, Death Valley set the record for the date with a reading of 128, the weather service said. The previous high for the date occurred in 2007, when the reading reached 127.
Las Vegas tied its record high temperature for the date when it reached 115 degrees on Saturday, the weather service said. The high of 105 in Reno, Nevada, represented a “break” of the previous July 6 record set in 2014, the weather service office in Reno said.
Phoenix appeared to be one degree shy of reaching its record high for the date, 116, as it recorded a preliminary high of 115, according to weather service data.
Record high temperatures in Las Vegas; Reno, Nevada; Portland, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; Orlando; and El Paso, Texas, remained possible Sunday, forecasters said.
Excessive heat watches, warnings and advisories have been issued for much of the West over the weekend and even into next week.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek declared an extreme heat emergency Friday because of high temperatures forecast for the state through Tuesday.
“Both the record temperatures and the duration of the heat pose a clear and present danger, especially to children, the elderly, people with disabilities and people who work outdoors,” Kotek said in a statement. “I’m asking Oregonians to take every precaution and check in on your family and neighbors.”
In Arizona, temperatures as high as 115 are expected in Phoenix and Yuma over the weekend and next week, according to the weather service field office in phoenix.
The intense heat combined with dry and windy conditions will also “support a critical fire risk” in parts of southern Idaho on Saturday and southern Utah on Sunday, according to the weather service.
On the East Coast, temperatures will range from 5 to 10 degrees above average, with highs in the 80s and 90s. Factoring in humidity, it will feel 100 to 111 degrees during Saturday afternoon.
Some improvement is expected Sunday in the mid-Atlantic region, with heat index values of 100 to 110 degrees remaining across the Gulf Coast and Southeast. The heat index value is the sensation of temperature for the human body.
Heat warnings have been issued on the East Coast from New York to coastal Alabama, including Charleston, South Carolina, where heat index values as high as 112 are possible, and in the New York metropolitan area, where it may feel about 100 degrees. .
In New York, libraries and community centers have been converted into “cooling centers” where the public can go to cool off.
Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras J. Baraka has issued an excessive heat warning for the weekend as temperatures are expected to rise above 90. The city has warned residents to take precautions to prevent heat-related illnesses by staying warm. if fresh and hydrated.
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