Some 140 million Americans were under some form of federal heat warning on July 8 as a multiday heat wave inundated much of the United States, particularly the West Coast.
Alerts also were issued in several states across the southern United States and in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states.
On July 7, an excessive heat warning was in effect for about 36 million people, or about 10 percent of the U.S. population, NWS meteorologist Bryan Jackson said. Dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest tied or broke previous heat records.
Many areas in Northern California topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit, with the city of Redding at a record 119 degrees. Phoenix set a new daily record on July 7 for the highest low temperature. It never got below 92 degrees.
The heat wave across the region will continue until later this week, the NWS said in a July 8 bulletin.
“Widespread high- and low-temperature records will likely be tied or broken over the next couple of days as a result of this unusual heat,” the bulletin continued, adding that the “multi-day length and record warm overnight temperatures will continue to cause heat stress in people without adequate cooling and hydration.”
The heat wave is predicted to move from California and Oregon north to Washington and over the Great Basin states such as Nevada, Arizona, and Utah over the coming days, according to the NWS.
A high temperature of 128 F was recorded on July 6 and July 7 at Death Valley National Park in eastern California. A visitor died on July 6 from heat exposure, and another person was hospitalized, officials said.
“Due to the high temperatures, emergency medical flight helicopters were unable to respond, as they cannot generally fly safely over 120 degrees,” a Death Valley National Park statement said.
“Heat illness and injury are cumulative and can build over the course of a day or days,” park rangers added in the statement.
“Besides not being able to cool down while riding due to high ambient air temperatures, experiencing Death Valley by motorcycle when it is this hot is further challenged by the necessary heavy safety gear worn to reduce injuries during an accident.”
Along the East Coast, temperatures above 100 degrees with high humidity were widespread, although no excessive heat advisories were implemented on July 7 or 8.
California Fires
In California, fire crews worked over the weekend in sweltering conditions to battle multiple wildfires across the state.In Santa Barbara County, north of Los Angeles, the Lake Fire has burned more than 20,000 acres since it broke out on July 5, Cal Fire officials say. As of July 8, the blaze was only 8 percent contained, and some rural areas were under a mandatory evacuation order.
Hurricane Weakens but Spreads
After Hurricane Beryl hit southern Texas on July 8 as a Category 1 storm, the system quickly weakened into a tropical storm, bringing life-threatening flash flooding and a storm surge to the Houston area.The storm is expected to deteriorate into a tropical depression by the morning of July 9; it will continue to move to the northeast across the Midwestern states, affecting areas as far north as Ohio, Michigan, and western New York.
