American cities have broken all-time heat records as scorching temperatures hit the country, with 10 percent of the country under severe weather warnings.
Dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest, including Nevada, Palm Springs and Medford, tied or broke previous heat records with temperatures well above 100 degrees.
An excessive heat warning, the National Weather Service’s highest alert, is in effect for about 36 million people, or about 10 percent of the population.
The heat wave is expected to continue through Monday, with temperatures on the East Coast reaching over 100 degrees.
The dangerous temperatures already caused the death of a motorcyclist in Death Valley on Saturday when temperatures reached 128 degrees.
Dozens of places in the West and Pacific Northwest, including Las Vegas, Nevada, Palm Springs, California, and Medford, Oregon, tied or broke previous heat records with temperatures well above 100 degrees.
The West Coast has so far been hit hardest by the heatwave, with Palm Springs, California, hitting its highest temperature ever: 124 degrees on Friday.
Likewise, Las Vegas hit 120 degrees on Sunday, breaking its previous record of 119 degrees, and Death Valley hit 127 degrees.
Across the West, temperatures are steadily climbing into the 105 to 118 degree range, with Medford, Oregon, hitting 109 degrees on Friday, breaking its previous record of 102 that had stood for 113 years.
Even in San Francisco, which is normally cooled by the ocean, temperatures reached the 80s over the weekend.
High temperatures have already posed a serious health risk and are expected to continue this week.
One visitor died at Death Valley National Park from heat exposure on Saturday, while another person was hospitalized.
They were both part of the same group of motorcyclists that was traveling through the Badwater Basin area in scorching weather.
A person wipes sweat from his brow at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, where someone died Saturday.
People cool off with mist sprayers on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday
The person who died was not identified. The other motorcyclist was taken to a Las Vegas hospital for “severe heat issues,” the statement said.
Because of the high temperatures, emergency medical helicopters were unable to respond, as aircraft generally cannot fly safely above 120 F (48.8 C), authorities said.
The other four members of the group were treated at the scene.
Authorities warned that heat-related illnesses and injuries are cumulative and can build up over the course of one or more days.
“In addition to not being able to cool off while riding due to the high ambient air temperatures, experiencing Death Valley by motorcycle when it’s so hot is further challenged by the heavy safety equipment required to reduce injuries during an accident,” the park’s statement said.
Triple-digit temperatures were common across Oregon, where several records were broken, including in Salem, where 103 degrees was reached Sunday, surpassing the 99-degree mark set in 1960.
Temperatures on the wetter East Coast were above 100 degrees, although there were no excessive heat warnings for Sunday.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check on family and neighbors,” reads a weather service advisory for the Baltimore area.
‘Small children and pets should never be left unsupervised in the vehicle under any circumstances.’
Rare heat warnings extended even to higher elevations, including Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border, and the weather service in Reno, Nevada, warned of “significant heat risk impacts, including in the mountains.”
“What heat are we talking about? Well, highs across western Nevada and northeastern California won’t dip below 100 degrees (37.8 C) until next weekend,” the online service posted. “And unfortunately, there won’t be much relief overnight either.”
More extreme high temperatures are forecast in the near term, including possibly 130°F (54.4°C) by midweek in Furnace Creek, California, in Death Valley.
High temperatures have already posed a serious health risk that will continue throughout this week.
A helicopter drops water on the flames of the Lake Fire in Los Olivos, California, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
An egg sits in a small pan at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley National Park, Calif., Sunday, July 7, 2024. Forecasters say a heat wave could break previous records across the United States, including in Death Valley. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
The highest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 degrees in July 1913 in Death Valley, although some experts dispute that measurement and say the actual record was 130 degrees, recorded there in July 2021.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Beryl is expected to lash Texas with a combination of storm surge, rain and damaging wind gusts on Sunday, officials said.
Dangerous flash flooding is possible in some areas, with 8 to 12 inches of rain expected.
Some rainfall has already been reported, forcing the evacuation of some coastal towns, including those in Refugio County. There, towns such as Bayside, Refugio and Woodsboro have ordered mandatory evacuations, representing about 6,700 residents.
It recently hit Mexico after causing at least 11 deaths in the Caribbean and is set to make landfall in the United States early Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
More than six feet of storm surge could be pushed to areas north of the impact zone near the coastal city of Brownsville.