Las Vegas could break its all-time high temperature of 117 degrees on Sunday, while millions of people in the US suffer from a week-long heat wave.
Las Vegas city authorities have asked residents and visitors to stay home whenever possible between the hours of 9 am and 6 pm over the weekend.
An influx of dehydrated elderly residents and construction workers has poured into city emergency rooms in recent days as the city burns in an intensifying dome of heat.
The National Weather Service has placed more than 90 million people under heat watches.
“We’ve been talking about this building heat wave for a week and now the most intense period is starting,” the National Weather Service said Friday.
Hundreds of firefighters were dispatched to battle three separate wildfires that raged in Riverside County, southeast of Los Angeles, on Friday afternoon.
Las Vegas could break its record high temperature of 117 degrees on Sunday
“Numerous record high temperatures are likely and air quality issues will be common in multiple areas of the US,” the Service said in a bulletin.
Adding: “Temperatures will reach levels that would pose a health risk and be life-threatening to anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration,” he said.
Scorching heat is forecast to intensify over the weekend in Nevada, Arizona and California, with desert temperatures forecast to soar in parts to over 120 degrees.
“Make no mistake about it: This heat is deadly, and being in it for long periods of time is deadly,” Dr. Matthew Levy, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told CNN.
Three separate wildfires had broken out in Riverside County, southeast of Los Angeles, by Friday afternoon, and hundreds of firefighters were still battling the flames Saturday.
All of the fires are within 40 miles of each other and have resulted in nearly 1,000 homes receiving evacuation orders.
No injuries have yet been reported, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
Death Valley National Park in California and Saguaro National Park in Arizona have issued advisories advising people not to hike after 10 a.m. local time.
The National Weather Service has put more than 90 million people under a heat alert.
Residents and visitors parade past sprinklers in Las Vegas, where authorities advised people not to go outside between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. over the weekend.
The California fires are less than 40 miles from each other and have resulted in nearly 1,000 homes receiving evacuation orders.
No injuries have yet been reported, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
On the east coast, Vermont is dealing with the aftermath of historic flooding, with at least one man dead.
Storms dumped up to two months of rain in a couple of days across parts of Vermont this week
Texas authorities at Big Bend National Park said: ‘These are extremely dangerous/deadly temperatures! Hikers should be OFF THE TRAILS in the afternoon. Keep hydrated. Limit your exposure.
It comes after a stepfather and one of his stepsons died while walking in extreme heat in a Texas park last month.
A 57-year-old woman also died while trying to hike eight miles in Grand Canyon National Park during 100-degree heat in early July.
Phoenix has also seen record-breaking sky-high temperatures and marked its 15th straight day of 110 degrees or higher on Friday.
“This weekend is going to be some of the most severe and hottest conditions we’ve ever seen,” the city’s heat director David Hondula told NPR.
“I think this is a time of maximum community vigilance,” he added.
On the east coast, Vermont is dealing with the aftermath of historic flooding, with at least one man dead.
Another woman died in upstate New York when she was swept away by floodwaters in Fort Montgomery, a small Hudson River community about 45 miles north of New York City.
Authorities called this week’s flooding Vermont’s worst natural disaster since the 1927 floods.
Residents have faced devastating damage to their homes and property in Vermont this week.
People in Las Vegas try to cool off when a scorching dome of heat hits the city
The storms dumped up to two months of rain in a couple of days across parts of the state this week.
Authorities called this week’s flooding the state’s worst natural disaster since the 1927 floods.
As well as roads, homes and businesses, farms took a big hit, with flooding shortly after many growers suffered a severe freeze in May.
It is expected to “destroy a large part of our produce and livestock feed,” state agriculture secretary Anson Tebbetts said at a news conference.
Vermont emergency management officials rushed to help communities and National Guard troops were also dispatched to assist with relief efforts.
