Dangerous heat wave could break temperature records, again, in cities across the country this week

A scorching heat wave which recently brought record temperatures to large swaths of the southwestern United States, including several large cities, is expected to continue this week as it sweeps across much of the country on its way toward the East Coast. Meanwhile, forecasters warned that severe storms could dump up to a foot of rain, or more, on parts of Florida and potentially give rise to another round of tornado threats in the central states. Metropolitan areas like Chicago could be affected by a possible tornado.

“As we get into the first few weeks of June, a lot of places are really starting to see these temperatures rise,” Todd Shoemake of the National Weather Service in Albuquerque told The Associated Press on Monday. “Southern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Arizona, they’re starting to see a lot of triple digits.”

Record heat in western US

Extreme heat warnings were active Monday for more than 20 million people across the Southwest, where several heat watches and advisories were set to come into effect Tuesday and remain in effect through Thursday in several areas , including vast areas of Arizona, California and Nevada. Those three states bore most of the brunt of the heat dome that blanketed the American West last week, sending temperatures soaring into triple digits and reaching record levels in cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas.

On Thursday and Friday, temperatures in Las Vegas rose to 111 degrees Fahrenheit and 110 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, setting new records for those days in the desert metropolitan center, according to the National Weather Service. In Phoenix, the temperature jumped to 110 degrees on Thursday, the highest recorded so far in 2024, and set a new high temperature record of 113 degrees as the heat persisted. In Albuquerque, temperatures reached 110 degrees on Friday, matching the city’s record reading set in 1981. Temperatures in and around New Mexico’s capital are typically about 20 degrees cooler this time of year.

More temperature records could be tied or broken this week in some places, although there will likely be fewer than last week, CBS News senior weather producer David Parkinson reported. Still, the Weather Forecast Center he said in its latest weekly forecast, temperature anomalies would likely be normal, while extreme heat would persist in the Southwest over the next few days, before moving through the center of the country and eventually reaching the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

“As for anomalous temperatures, an amplified mean upper ridge scheduled to slowly shift from the west/southwest into the south-central U.S. and parts of the east will continue to produce much warmer than average temperatures,” meteorologists wrote in that forecast. They noted that the most significant temperature anomalies would likely materialize in the Great Basin before moving eastward into the Rockies and Great Plains. In these regions, high temperatures can deviate by up to 10 or 20 degrees from the norm.

Southwest Desert

This could pose serious threats to the desert communities of the Southwest and South Texas.

“It is crucial that residents and individuals involved in outdoor activities stay informed and take necessary precautions,” the weather forecast center said, for people in California and throughout the Southwest. In Phoenix, for example, the National Weather Service announced Sunday that an excessive heat warning was in effect Tuesday through Thursday, including other parts of south-central and northwestern Arizona.

The weather service has since upgraded that warning to a heat warning, which is more serious, for Phoenix, along with most of south-central Arizona. Forecasters said temperatures could reach 112 degrees in the city this week.

The weather service in Phoenix urged people to take precautions as the heat wave approaches. In a social media post shared Monday, the agency said the expected level of sweltering heat brings with it a “high risk of heat stress or illness for anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration.” Forecasters have advised people in the region to avoid exposure to the sun entirely from 10am to 6pm local time while the heat warning is in effect. Phoenix has established public “cooling centers” for people without access to air conditioning, as well as free transportation to these facilities.

In Las Vegas – who has just experienced his first hottest week of June since temperature records began in 1937 — the heat was also expected to push temperatures into the triple digits during the city’s heat warning period from Tuesday morning through Wednesday night, forecasters said .

“Temperatures return to dangerous levels on Tuesday and Wednesday, with afternoon highs 8 to 12 degrees above normal,” the Las Vegas weather service wrote on social media Sunday.

East Coast and Mid-Atlantic

Extreme weather is forecast to hit the eastern US later this week.

Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and scattered parts of Maryland and Virginia are expected to see temperatures rise and reach a threshold above normal on Friday. Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia are candidates to break temperature records as the heat wave takes hold, Parkinson reported. Both cities, along with pockets of neighboring states, are coded with a “red alert” for Friday. a heat map developed by the weather forecast center, which projects temperature patterns for the coming days.

“This level of heat will affect anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration. Impacts likely on some health systems, heat-sensitive industries and infrastructure,” the weather forecast center said, noting that the heat represents a “great risk for a large part of the population”. population.”