On the official first day of summer, at least 70% of Americans will be subjected to a severe heatwave that will see temperatures rise above 90°F and even triple digits across parts of the Gulf Coast, Great Lakes, and Midwest.
Several cities, including Chicago, Minneapolis, Nashville, Memphis, Dallas, New Orleans, and Atlanta, are under excessive heat warnings, with temperatures expected to reach more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, affecting 20% of the US population — 67.9 million people.
Local temperatures in Minneapolis and St. Louis, Minnesota, reached around 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) on Monday, with high humidity making it feel like it was close to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43C).
According to Kare11, the Twin Cities’ roads are collapsing due to the extreme heat, and two areas of I-35 in the Minneapolis area are now closed as a result.
‘MSP just hit 99[F], which is a new daily high (beating the previous high of 98 set in 1933)! On Monday, the National Weather Service Twin Cities tweeted, “Let’s see if we can hit 100.” On that day, the heat index in the area reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
At 5 p.m. on Monday, when temperatures are at their highest, the weather in Minneapolis will be 89 degrees, while Chicago will experience 93 degrees. Temperatures in Nashville and Phoenix will reach 101 and 108 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, while temperatures in Memphis, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Dallas will range from 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Last week, people flocked to pools, beaches, and cooling centers across the Midwest and South, from northern Florida to the Great Lakes, as a heat wave pushed temperatures into the 90s and beyond, possibly killing at least two people.
Over the weekend, temperatures in some parts of the country, including New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, broke records, reaching 97 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, respectively, breaking the 1913 record of 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Mobile.
On Monday morning, the National Weather Service issued heat advisories to more than nine million people in eight states, mostly in the northern and western parts of the country, including Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Kansas.
Last Monday, temperatures in northwest Kansas reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). Over the weekend, temperatures in the western part of the state and the Texas panhandle approached 110 degrees.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported last week that at least 2,000 cattle had died as a result of the high temperatures and humidity.
The deaths are a huge financial loss because the animals, which typically weigh around 1,500 pounds, are worth around $2,000 per head, according to Scarlett Hagins, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Livestock Association.
Some producers who have suffered a loss will be helped by federal disaster programs, she added.
As more people are expected to stay indoors and blast their air conditioners, electric companies in the Southeast said they were prepared to deal with the second heat wave this week in affected areas.
‘This is our ‘Super Bowl,’ which we have been preparing for all year. We’re all set to go!’ In a statement to CNN, Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman Scott Fiedler said.
Entergy, a power company primarily serving states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, said it expects an increase in power in areas across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Orleans, and Texas, and that energy levels will reach unprecedented heights.
At Oncor, the largest electric utility company in Texas and the fifth largest in the country, preparing for extreme heat is a year-round process. It provides services to more than ten million Texans.
On the company’s website, Senior Design Manager and former Assistant District Manager Elizabeth Barrett said, “Our maintenance strategy department starts looking at data analytics and analyzing areas of vulnerability that we could really be focusing on for summer prep.”
‘Any areas that could be overloaded are being looked at,’ she added. ‘Transformers are overloaded. We’re consistently looking at meter data to see how those transformers might be affected by the increased load and whether or not they need to be replaced.’
And it’s possible that the worst is yet to come. Nighttime temperatures have been warmer than in previous years, with temperatures expected to reach around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, providing little relief for a restful night’s sleep.
Last week, millions of people were affected by triple-digit temperatures and historic flooding in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and Montana, as a result of wide-ranging weather conditions across the counties.
Wildfires have also erupted in Arizona and New Mexico, where temperatures in Phoenix are closer to 110 degrees than 100 degrees. Last week, many people in Ohio lost power due to a combination of extreme heat, rain, and storms.
According to data from AEP Ohio, a local power company, about 250,000 customers were without power on Tuesday.
In the Columbus area, around 169,000 customers were affected.