Extreme Heat Will Bake the US for the Rest of July
Extreme heat will bake the US for the rest of July with health officials warning of heat strokes as meteorologists predict temperatures between 90 and 110 degrees until the end of the month.
Much of the country will see temperatures top the 90s, with a staggering 270 million Americans - around 84 percent of the population - experiencing such heat at least one day this week.
People in Western Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas will bear the brunt of the heat, with areas reaching a feel-like temperature of around 110 degrees Fahrenheit by next week.
Meteorologists warned the heat is here to stay throughout July and that Americans should brace for higher-than-normal temperatures even throughout the rest of the year.
'It's very widespread and it's going to be very long lasting,' said Jeff Masters, founder of Weather Underground and now a meteorologist at Yale Climate Connections.
'It's not a record-breaking heat wave, but it is notable for its persistence.'
Simulations show the weather will be hotter-than-normal for every month from July until November, he added.
'It does not give us any false hope,' Masters said.
'False hope or real hope is hard to come by.'
The National Weather Service warned of excessive heat on Tuesday for 18 million people, but that's nothing compared to what's coming up.
For the first half of the week, the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic regions will feel the heat more than most, with Detroit, Indianapolis and Washington DC hitting the low- to mid-90s.
By the end of this week, much of the nation will likely be passing the 90s and it will feel even hotter in the South.
Charleston, South Carolina, is forecast to feel temperatures of 105 degrees Friday followed by 108 Saturday, while Little Rock is expected to feel like 107 and 109 on Friday and Saturday.
Over in Houston, Texas, it should feel like 109 Friday through Sunday and for Phoenix, Arizona, feel-like temperatures - which factors in humidity - will top 108 on Friday and 110 on Saturday and Sunday.
Temperatures will soar higher into next week, with close to two-thirds of the country expected to be warmer than normal.
Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matthew Rosencrans warned that around 40 percent of the Lower 48 states have a moderate risk of extreme and dangerous heat.
Wisconsin in particular could be battling it out with the Southeast for the nation's hottest feels-like temperature - which factors in humidity - with heat indices pushing past 100, Rosencrans said.
The worst prolonged heat looks to be around western Nebraska, Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, where temperatures approach 110, but without the sticky humidity.
The entire Lower 48 states and Alaska are also likely to be warmer than normal for the last two weeks of July, traditionally the hottest time of year, according to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center.
Meteorologists are warning Americans this is a dangerous type of heat and urging people to be careful about heat stroke, stay indoors and drink plenty of water.
The soaring temperatures are the result of a giant ridge of high pressure, parking hot air stuck in the Southwest that has extended farther east than usual and blocked cold fronts from moving in, Rosencrans said.
And the jet stream, a river of air that keeps weather moving, has retreated to Canada, so nothing is pushing the heat along.
On top of that, dry weather feeds the heat in a 'vicious feedback cycle,' he said.
In Miami, which has experienced its hottest stretch on record, an unusually hot Atlantic Ocean is adding to the problem, not allowing it to cool below 80 at night, said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist for BAM forecasts.
Masters said there's 'very toasty water pretty much everywhere' except near Greenland.
Scientists have long warned that climate change will send temperatures soaring across the nation, but Rosencrans stopped short of laying the blame on this.
Without extensive statistical and scientific analysis, meteorologists can't say for sure that the heat is due to global warming, he said.
However, he said he has never before seen temperature forecast maps covered in blood red, dark brown and purple - colors signifying much hotter than normal temperatures - like this at the hottest time of the year. – Daily Mail
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