Temperatures to soar across western US

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – A major heat wave will continue across most of the western U.S. much of this week with “dangerously” hot temperatures expected, the National Weather Service said.

Widespread excessive heat warnings and heat advisories are in effect from the interior Northwest south into the Desert Southwest as temperatures soar above 100 degrees in many areas.

Parts of the Southern California desert experienced record-breaking heat on Sunday as Death Valley hit 130 degrees – the hottest temperature the area has recorded since July 1913, according to the Weather Service. If verified, it would be Death Valley’s hottest temperature ever recorded in August.

That is also among the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the world, the World Meteorological Organization said. Little break in the heat is likely, forecasters said, as temperatures are expected to reach record levels over much of the Southwest for the next few days.

“High temperatures are forecast to soar well past the century mark for the hottest locations in the interior Pacific Northwest, while temperatures at some locations in the Desert Southwest will exceed 120 degrees,” the Weather Service said.

Across California, the extreme heat strained the state’s electricity grid over the weekend and threatened to trigger another round of rolling power outages Monday and Tuesday.

Electricity demands will be pushed to the max into at least the middle of this week, AccuWeather said. Managers of California’s power grid issued a statewide Flex Alert on Sunday, calling for voluntary electricity conservation through Wednesday and warning of rolling blackouts.

The weather phenomena responsible for the sizzling conditions is an expansive area of high pressure, which can be referred to as a “heat dome,” AccuWeather said. Underneath areas of high pressure, the air sinks. Sinking air compresses and heats up, causing temperatures to soar.