Relief from heat still days away in eastern USA
Sure, we know it’s summer, but the heat scorching much of the USA this week is the worst in years. And it’s not done yet. Any real relief is still several days away.
In the Northeast, temperatures will continue to soar into the 90s to near 100 degrees over the next couple of days, the National Weather Service said. Those temperatures are 10 to 20 degrees above average.
Additional record high temperatures are possible this week, joining those set Sunday in cities such as Keene, New Hampshire (102 degrees), and Allentown, Pennsylvania (98 degrees).
Punishing humidity levels will put the heat index, which takes into account air temperature and humidity, as high as 110 degrees in many areas.
“I know not everyone can stay inside, but if you have to be outside, please bring water and hydrate,” said Mike Evans, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Albany, New York.
Heat advisories and warnings are in effect from North Carolina to New Hampshire. Air pollution concentrations will reach unhealthy levels for sensitive people in many areas.
“Overnight lows will also be quite sultry, especially in urban areas where readings could remain above 75 degrees all night,” the weather service warned. AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said that “the vast expanse of concrete, pavement and brick will give off heat through the night.”
On Wednesday, as Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, the hot, humid weather will continue over most of the eastern half of the country. Scattered thunderstorms are expected over much of the Southeast, particularly from the Texas coast to Florida and the Carolinas, weather.com reported.
Heat remains one of the most dan- gerous weather hazards. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 150 to 300 people are killed directly by heat in the USA each year, and heat contributes to hundreds more deaths in some years.
Cars can become ovens in such weather. On a 90-degree day, the inside of a car can heat to 120 degrees in as little as 15 minutes, according to Golden Gate Weather Services. This year, 18 children across the United States have died after being locked or forgotten in a hot car.
The heat is the result of a strong upper-level ridge of high pressure, or northward bulge in the jet stream, that has expanded into much of the eastern USA, weather.com reported.
Some relief from the heat is expected in the East heading into the second week of July as the ridge slides to the west, according to weather.com. Though still hot, temperatures will be closer to average for July in much of the East. The extreme heat will then shift toward the West.