The US is set to face record-breaking temperatures and severe weather, including heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and storms. The NWS urges caution as a heatwave spreads across the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast.
United States, Bollywood Fever: The US is gearing up for extreme temperatures this week as the first major heatwave of the season begins. Much of the Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic are expected to experience potentially record-breaking heat throughout the first half of the week, with some areas facing temperatures not seen in decades. Forecasts predict that daily high-temperature records and even a few monthly records for June could be broken from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, with local maximum temperatures reaching up to 40.5°C (105°F).
However, the soaring temperatures are not the only weather concern. Heavy rainfall, flash flooding, snow, and storms have also been predicted in various parts of the country.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Americans should prepare for “heavy wet snow across the northern Rockies into the new week. Meanwhile, deep tropical moisture is expected to move ashore across the Gulf Coast States with the threat of heavy rainfall. This threat extends into the upper Midwest where flash flooding and a few severe storms [are expected].”
The heatwave is set to spread from the central Plains to the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and the Northeast today, remaining across the Northeast through midweek, according to the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center.
Over the next few days, a low-pressure system is forecast over the central High Plains, expected to intensify as it moves toward the upper Midwest. Ahead of this system, “a heat wave is quickly emerging,” the Weather Prediction Center explains.
“The heat will surge into the Northeast by Tuesday, with high temperatures well into the 90s [90°F/32°C] forecast as far north as Vermont and New Hampshire. By Wednesday afternoon, some locations in interior New England could see temperatures topping the century mark [100°F/38°C], which will break daily records at certain locations.”
By Sunday, 268 million people are forecast to experience air temperatures reaching or exceeding 32°C (90°F), according to Axios.
Meanwhile, in the Four Corners region of the Southwestern US, “critical fire danger conditions are anticipated today under persistently dry conditions.”
Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the US, prompting the NWS to urge people to take the heatwave seriously and exercise caution. Those at greatest risk from extreme heat include older people, pregnant individuals, infants, and those with chronic medical conditions. For tips on how to stay safe in the heat, the NWS offers handy resources.
Also Read, Real Estate Prices in Amaravati Set to Soar as New Government Takes Charge