Severe heatwave in the western US expected to intensify, potentially reaching record highs.
The merciless heatwave is just getting started in various Western states, propelling temperatures 20 to 25 degrees above the norm. An approaching foreboding week might even shatter several daily record high temperatures, with Thursday set to be the scorchiest day for millions of residents. However, the sweltering conditions will be far from forgiving as respite at night evades people, a grave consequence of an overheating planet plagued by fossil fuel pollution.
This weekend's extreme heat tragically turned fatal, with more disaster looming. Over 19 million people in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and South Texas are grappling with imminent excessive heat warnings. These alerts are the National Weather Service's most critical heat advisory, indicating a pervasive threat of hazardous temperatures.
The relentless warmth is enticed by a heat dome, a gargantuan mass of high pressure that hovers over an area, compressing air and subjecting it to the relentless glow of the sun. The longer the heat dome hangs around, the more searing the result.
Temperatures started tantalizingly rising Tuesday in select parts of California and the West, with Sacramento introducing triple-digit temperatures for the year's first time and Las Vegas nudging just a degree short of its warmest year-to-date temperature. Numerous other daily temperature records were also reset in Texas.
A greater expanse of the Southwest will feel the full impact on Wednesday, albeit notably missing major shoreline populations. However, Los Angeles will still be consistently 5 to 10 degrees warmer than usual during this week.
Triple-digit temperatures will floor the Central Valley of California on Wednesday and endure into the subsequent weekend, just as Southern California's desert zones will sizzle.
Death Valley, reputed to be the hottest place on Earth, is expected to see a record temperature of at least 120 degrees by Thursday. This degree of roasting commences only in mid-to-late June ordinarily.
Phoenix will meet 110 degrees for the first time this year on Thursday, although the city tends to stay clear of such heat until mid-June. High temperatures will escalate as high as the low 110s in Las Vegas, potentially matching the city's earliest mark thus far in 2010.
Heatwaves can similarly torch summer high temperature records in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Arizona, Reno, Nevada, and Fresno, California, among numerous others.
By Friday, the threat of shattered norms extends to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Colorado as the scorching pushes to the north and east.
Dangerous heat plagues the US-Mexico border
The searing heat has made an uninvited appearance in the far southern US for quite some time now. Record-breaking heat in Mexico trudged its way to southern Texas, plaguing the region for weeks. Several cities along the US-Mexico border reported their hottest May on record this year.
The migrants on the US-Mexico border encountered dangerous heat last weekend, as the US Border Patrol reported four deaths due to heatstroke and dehydration. The border sector stretches from southeastern New Mexico to western Texas.
Heat, tragically, is the deadliest form of weather in the US, annually claiming more lives than hurricanes and tornadoes combined, as per the National Weather Service. High temperatures in the particular region reached 5 degrees above average from Friday to Sunday and could swell to 10 degrees above average on Thursday and Friday.
Stay tuned to the gripping HBO Max Original Series “Violent Earth with Liev Schreiber,” exploring horrifying weather events spurred by the ever-changing climate. It streams every Sunday at 9pm ET/PT.
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The extreme heat affecting various Southern US cities, including those along the US-Mexico border, has reached record-breaking levels, surpassing norms by up to 10 degrees. This relentless heat is responsible for several deadly incidents, as evidenced by the reported four heatstroke and dehydration-related deaths last weekend along the border sector.
