- Over 50 million Americans in eight different states were under heat warnings and watches on Tuesday.
- The National Weather Service urged people to stay hydrated and stay indoors.
- Temperatures in many states are expected to stay above the 1990s over the weekend.
A 100-year record broken in Montana. The hottest temperature in any city in Utah in 147 years. Dozens of daily records have been broken in many states.
And the heat wave in the west is not subsiding.
More than 50 million Americans in eight different states were warned of the heat Tuesday, watching the National Weather Service tell people to stay hydrated and stay indoors.
Dozens of daily records were broken Monday and Tuesday, stretching from the central and inland California valleys to northern Montana and Wyoming.
Salt Lake City also set another heat record for the second straight day, seeing the hottest day of the year and June’s hottest temperature in 147 years after hitting 106 degrees Weather service. Palm Springs, California, reached 117 degrees, seems to break the record temperature for June 15th Discontinued in 1961.
“High temperatures in parts of Riverside County are nothing new, but those predicted during the week can be very unsafe, especially for the very young, the very old, and those with underlying health problems,” said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, the county’s public health officer. “You don’t want to ignore the potential for harm.”
A daily record of 104 degrees was set in Billings, Montana on Tuesday after the clip was broken on Monday; a daily temperature record in 1919 was broken by 12 degrees in Miles City, Montana.
And in Denver, temperatures rose to 101 degrees on Tuesday, breaking the old record of June 15, which was 97 degrees in 1952 and 1993, respectively.
“There are still a few hours until it gets even warmer,” he said The weather service announced this on Twitter.
“Given the heat, drought and gusty winds, the risk of fire is also a problem in large parts of the West, as there are critical fire risks tonight in parts of the central Great Basin and the northern Rocky Mountains”, said the weather service in an advisory.
Rising temperatures exacerbate the risk of forest fires in Montana and northern Wyoming, officials said. Strong winds with gusts of up to 56 kilometers per hour were expected, threatening to stir up already burning wildfires and making it difficult to extinguish new flames.
Wildfire that broke out near Yellowstone National Park in Montana on Monday grew rapidly overnight and burned more than 8 square kilometers by Tuesday morning, news channel KULR-TV reported. Homeowners in the area have been told they might be asked to evacuate if conditions worsen.
Meanwhile California and Texas power grid company Texas warn that systems are offline more than usual due to the hot weather and have urged residents to save energy to avoid rolling power outages.
And for the southwestern states, there will be little relief over the weekend. According to forecasters, temperatures in many states are expected to stay above the 1990s.
In Las Vegas, meteorologist Stan Czyzyk said the Las Vegas Review Journal that Tuesday high could break the 1940 daily record of 116, but that the records would be more likely to fall later in the week.
The National Weather Service said that since records began in 1937, the Las Vegas high has been at or above 113 five times for five consecutive days.
And the Tuesday temperature in Phoenix hit a record 115 degrees in 1974. The Arizona city will be high for the remainder of the week, fueling forest fires in the state.
“It’s still pretty early for such high temperatures,” said Marvin Percha, chief forecaster at the Phoenix Meteorological Service office.
Contributors: Amanda Ulrich, Palm Springs Desert Sun; The Associated Press
