Temperatures in the Central Valley of California and Southwestern California will be dangerously hot, as they rise well to triple figures on Saturday afternoon.
“Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses, especially those working or participating in outdoor activities,” warned the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Hanford, California. “Low values at night can provide a little relief.”
The record heat will stretch from Sacramento to Houston. In fact, more than 140 cities in the United States could break daily records over the next few days, and even low night temperatures are expected to reach dangerous levels.
The taste of record temperatures came on Friday
High temperatures in the central and southern plains on Saturday will also rise to the 90s and three digits. But the values of the heat index – “feeling like temperatures” – can approach 113 degrees, especially in South Texas.
The taste of the dangerous and potentially deadly heat came on Friday as several major cities set new records.
Yes, the desert is a hot spot, but Death Valley in Eastern California set a new daily record of 123 degrees, breaking the previous peak in 1994 by 3 degrees.
Phoenix hit 113 degrees, breaking the previous July 10 record of 111 set in 1978.
Austin reached 103 degrees – 1 degree higher than the previous record for the day in 2008.
At least 140 cities could set new daily high records
More than 220 million people, about 70% of the lower 48, will see temperatures of 90 or more next week.
More than 45 million of these people – or about 15% of the population of the lower 48 – will experience three-digit temperatures next week, mostly in the California Central Valley, the Southwest Desert and the southern and central plains.
This means that 140 cities can set new daily high records from Saturday to Wednesday.
Relief from the unpleasantly hot and humid weather will begin in Northern and Central California on Sunday and Monday with the arrival of a pair of cold fronts.
But the heat dome will simply shift to the central and eastern states, bringing it to a boil in the plains and the Midwest early next week.
On Monday, most of the record temperatures will extend between Denver and Raleigh, North Carolina, but may spread north to Wisconsin and Michigan by mid-week.
Chicago could reach its peak in the 1990s on Tuesday and Wednesday.
And downturns at night – which usually allow the body to cool down adequately – can be as relentless as daytime peaks.
“Your body needs cooling at night and is actually waiting for it while you sleep,” said Jen Varian, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Las Vegas.
“When we have very hot temperatures at night, your body is simply not able to cool properly, which (and) in itself can cause complications, but will set you up to be less prepared for the heat of the day.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez contributed to this story.
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