LAS VEGAS – Approximately 130 million people were under threat over the weekend and into next week from a long heat wave that broke or tied world records. dangerously high temperatures and further destruction is expected from the East Coast to the West Coast, forecasters said.
Ukiah, north of San Francisco, reached 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47 degrees Celsius) on Saturday, breaking the city’s record for the date and tying its all-time high. Livermore, east of San Francisco, reached 111 F (43.8 C), breaking the daily maximum temperature record of 109 F (42.7 C) set more than a century ago in 1905.
Las Vegas tied the record of 115 F (46 C), last reached in 2007, and Phoenix reached a record of 114 F (45.5 C), just below the record of 116 F (46.7 C) dated back to 1942.
The National Weather Service said it was extending the excessive heat warning for much of the Southwest through Friday.
“A dangerous and historic heat wave is just beginning in the area, with temperatures expected to peak between Sunday and Wednesday,” the National Weather Service in Las Vegas said in an updated forecast.
In Las Vegas, where the mercury reached 37.7 C (100 F) at 10:30 a.m., Marko Boscovich said the best way to beat the heat is by sitting at a slot machine with a cold beer inside an air-conditioned casino.
“But you know, once you hit triple digits, it’s kind of the same thing for me,” said Boscovich, who was visiting Sparks, Nev., to see a Dead & Company concert Saturday night at the Sphere. “Maybe they’ll play one of my favorites – ‘Cold Rain and Snow’.”
In the wettest parts of the country, temperatures can rise above 100 F (about 38 C) in parts of the Pacific Northwest, the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, said Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist with the weather service.
Forecasters predicted temperatures would be near daily records in the region for most if not all of next week, with lower highs in the desert reaching 115 to 120 degrees F (46.1 to 48.8 C).
Rare heat warnings have been extended even to higher elevations, including around Lake Tahoe on the border of California and Nevada, with the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, warning of “major impacts of heat risk, even in mountains.”
“How hot are we talking? Well, high temperatures (western Nevada and northeastern California) will not drop below 100 degrees (37.8 C) until next weekend,” the service posted online. “And unfortunately, there won’t be much relief overnight either.”
In fact, Reno reached a high of 104 F (40 C) on Saturday, breaking the old record of 101 F (38.3 C).
More extreme highs are in the near forecast, including 129 F (53.8 C) for Sunday in Furnace Creek, California, in Death Valley National Park, and then around 130 F (54.4 C) through Wednesday.
The hottest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 in Death Valley in eastern California, although some experts dispute this measurement and say the actual record was 130 F ( 54.4 C), recorded there in July 2021.
Triple-digit temperatures are likely in the West, between 15 and 30 F (8 and 16 C) warmer than average next week, the National Weather Service said.
The Eastern US was also bracing for higher temperatures. Baltimore and other parts of Maryland were under an excessive heat warning as heat index values could rise to 110 F (43 C), meteorologists said.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check on family and neighbors,” read a National Weather Service advisory for the Baltimore area. “Small children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.”
In Arizona’s Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year, along with more than 160 other deaths suspected of being heat-related that are still under investigation, according to a report recent.
That does not include the death of a 10-year-old boy last week in Phoenix, who suffered a “heat-related medical event” while hiking with his family in South Mountain Park and Preserve, according to police.
Firefighters have sent aircraft and helicopters to drop water or retardant on a series of wildfires in California.
In Santa Barbara County, northwest of Los Angeles, the Lake Fire burned more than 49 square kilometers of grass, brush and wood. Firefighters said the fire showed “extreme fire behavior” and had “potential for large growth” with high temperatures and low humidity.
At the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, music fans drank cold water, sought shade or cooled off under jets of water. Organizers of the weekend’s festivities also announced free access to air conditioning at a nearby hotel.
Angélica Quiroz, 31, kept her scarf and hat wet and put on sunscreen.
“There is definitely a difference between shade and sun,” Quiroz said Friday. “But when you’re in the sun, it feels like you’re cooking.”
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In an earlier version of this story, the name Angelica Quiroz was misspelled as Angela Quiroz.
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Associated Press reporter Julie Walker contributed from New York. Boone reported from Boise, Idaho, and Sonner reported from Reno, Nevada. Associated Press journalists Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina, John Antczak in Los Angeles, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia, and Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, contributed.
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