Heat Wave Fries & Scorches USA

It’s expected that the US is going to see some temperature records broken (or shattered) today as much of the country is facing extreme heat. One expectation coming into the weekend was that Death Valley may even hit 130°F today. In general, the US Southwest is under extreme heat stress, but then again, so are places on the East Coast like Florida and Georgia.

“Take the heat seriously and avoid time outdoors,” the National Weather Service warned humans earlier today. “Temperatures will reach levels that pose a health risk and are potentially deadly to anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration. Heat is the leading weather-related killer in the US.” It’s worth keeping that latter point in mind in general — sometimes we discount how great of a threat the heat is.

While southern states get most of the attention, even the Pacific Northwest is under a heat warning.

We’ll see about Sunday, but here’s a crazy stat to keep you awake: “Phoenix had its 16th consecutive day of 110-degree or higher temperatures Saturday, putting it on track to beat the longest measured stretch of such heat. The record was 18 days, in 1974.” Can you imagine — more than two weeks straight with the temperature reaching or exceeding 110 degrees? (Of course, that does sound worse to a Floridian like me because we are used to high humidity adding to the misery.

Another wild stat: “More than 110 million people, or about a third of people in the US, are under excessive heat warnings and advisories.” That’s wild. That’s nearly a third of the country.

“An already dangerous weekslong heat wave will only worsen this weekend as a heat dome intensifies and reaches peak strength over parts of the Western United States,” CNN writes. “The heat dome is so formidable the National Weather Service in Phoenix called it ‘one of the strongest high pressure systems this region has ever seen.’ Around 100 heat records could fall today through the weekend as it intensifies, piling onto the more than 1,000 high temperature records broken in the US since June.”

“This weekend there will be some of the most serious and hot conditions we’ve ever seen,” says David Hondula, chief heat officer for Phoenix.

Regarding that 130-degree possibility noted above, CNN adds, “Even the hottest place on Earth, California’s Death Valley, could reach rare highs, with 130 degrees possible Sunday, forecasters at the National Weather Service told CNN. It has only happened a handful of times, one of which is the all-time global record high temperature of 134 degrees.”

We've talked about the heat for a few days now and an Excessive Heat Warning remains in effect away from the coast, but how hot is it really? Here's a look at 1 PM temperatures around the region. Natural A/C at the coast, but most inland locations >90°F #cawx pic.twitter.com/RSUR07DV9S

— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) July 16, 2023

Record heat continues across the region today and through most of this upcoming week. We may see an uptick in thunderstorm activity across higher terrain over the next couple of days, but chances still remain, at best, low (10-15%) across the metro. #azwx pic.twitter.com/Xr6cgQuYHX

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) July 16, 2023

The heat is affecting a variety of different activities. Some musicians are even cutting concerts short in response to the heat. More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled due to inclement weather related to this as well. The overall point for Floridians and others who are struggling through the heath is to find air conditioning and try to stay inside — and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Global heating, anyone? Who wants to drive more gas cars and burn more coal and fossil gas?

More seriously, be careful out there! Extreme heat can be a little under the radar, but it is as deadly and costly as it comes in terms of weather threats.