Heat alerts cover over 100 million Americans as temperatures soar across West and Midwest
More than 100 million people are under heat alerts as triple-digit temperatures hit major cities and extreme heat warnings remain in effect through early next week.
More than 100 million Americans are under some form of heat alert on Sunday, with dangerously hot weather expected to affect a broad swath of the country from the West to the Midwest. Forecasts call for at least seven large cities to reach triple-digit highs, including 112 °F in Las Vegas, 109 °F in Phoenix and 105 °F in Rapid City, South Dakota. Other cities such as Omaha, Denver, Dallas and Kansas City are also projected to top 100 °F, while Minneapolis and St. Louis are expected to reach the upper 90s.
Extreme heat warnings are currently in effect for Phoenix, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Memphis, Omaha, St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri. Afternoon temperatures are forecast to hit the 100-degree mark from the desert Southwest through parts of the Rockies, the Plains and the Dakotas. Denver’s predicted high of 102 °F would break its July 26 record of 100 °F set in 1910, and Rapid City’s 105 °F forecast would challenge its 103 °F daily record from 1987; the city already recorded 112 °F on Saturday.
High humidity will amplify the heat from Texas to the Upper Midwest, with heat-index values of 105 °F to 115 °F expected across a wide area and some locations potentially feeling even hotter. Overnight relief will be limited, with nighttime lows projected around 90 °F in Phoenix and Las Vegas and near 80 °F in Dallas, Kansas City and Omaha.
A cold front is expected to bring cooler weather to the Upper Midwest early in the week, but dangerous heat will persist across much of the central and southern United States through at least Monday and remain in parts of the South and Southwest beyond that. Temperatures in the Southwest could climb to as high as 115 °F this week, and Palm Springs, California, is forecast to see daytime highs near 112 °F, approaching 120 °F by next weekend—8 to 12 °F above normal for this time of year.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center has placed portions of the Midwest and Great Lakes under a 3-out-of-5 risk for severe thunderstorms on Sunday, including Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota. Michigan, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin are also expected to experience severe storms, with the potential for damaging wind gusts, large hail and isolated tornadoes. The threat shifts toward the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Monday, with damaging winds and large hail remaining the primary hazards.