Heat wave over eastern U.S. continues to intensify

20/06/2024

As a punishing heat dome continues to intensify over the northeastern United States, scores of record-high temperatures were matched or broken Wednesday from Ohio to Maine, including in Boston, Cleveland, Buffalo and Caribou, near Maine’s northern tip. This long-lasting heat wave will continue to scorch the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic into the weekend.

Here’s what to know

Temperatures climbed well into the 90s and approached 100 in some areas. The most intense heat hit Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, which posted higher temperatures than South Florida.
About 75 million people from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast live in a location under an excessive-heat warning or heat advisory.
“Those without access to reliable air conditioning are urged to find a way to cool down,” the National Weather Service said. “Record warm overnight temperatures will prevent natural cooling and allow the heat danger to build over time indoors without air conditioning.”

9:33 PM: These small daily actions may affect how your body manages heat

As the summer sun beats down, many people may grab a frozen margarita or blast the fan. But, in some cases, those attempts at relief may not help.

Some activities that you think provide relief may end up making you feel hotter. Overheated individuals can experience issues as relatively minor as heat cramps to more severe situations like heat stroke, which can be fatal. Although often preventable, extreme heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States.

The first major heat wave of the summer is strengthening over the eastern U.S. this week, putting tens of millions of people under heat alerts. Parts of the Northeast are expected to reach temperatures in the triple digits, and some cities may see their hottest days in decades.

In the face of intense heat, experts say small daily actions — from the food, drinks or medications we ingest to how we attempt to cool down — could affect how our bodies dissipate heat. Here are some risks to be aware of, and tips that may help you stay cool during an extreme heat wave.

Read the full story

By: Amudalat Ajasa and Kasha Patel

8:28 PM: Pittsburgh passes emergency bill to help fix fountains amid heat wave

As the country is blanketed by a relentless heat wave, the Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday passed an emergency resolution to address a shortage in working water fountains.

The resolution authorizes the mayor to hire additional plumbers to turn on public water fountains as residents face a string of days with near-triple-digit temperatures.

Pittsburgh currently employs just one plumber to maintain around 200 city water fountains, among other duties.

“The City cannot wait” to address its “critical shortage of plumbers,” the resolution read.

The bill’s sponsor, council member Bobby Wilson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wilson told local outlet KDKA the council would do whatever it could to move quickly.

The legislation now goes to the desk of Mayor Ed Gainey to sign.

Read the full story

By: Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff

7:17 PM: You don’t have to run your air conditioner 24 hours a day. Here’s what to do.

For many people, beating the heat this summer means one thing: cranking up the air conditioner.

Experts say having access to air conditioning isn’t just about comfort. During extreme heat events, which are becoming more frequent and prolonged due to climate change, being in an air-conditioned space helps keep people safe.

But air conditioners can be expensive energy guzzlers. According to the Energy Department, air conditioning ranks as one of the biggest energy users in homes across much of the country — consuming about 6 percent of the nation’s electricity, at an annual cost of about $29 billion to homeowners.

There are, however, changes you can make to your space and how you use your air conditioner that can save energy, said Jennifer Amann, senior fellow in the buildings program at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a nonprofit group. Even adjusting your thermostat a couple of degrees warmer than what you normally keep it at could yield savings that add up over time, Amann said.

Here’s what to know about your AC.

By: Allyson Chiu

6:28 PM: Here’s how hot it got today

Heat wave over eastern U.S. continues to intensify

Temperatures soared well into the 90s as far north as northern Maine on Wednesday as the heat wave neared its peak. Taking into account humidity, heat indexes surged above 100.

The most intense heat hit Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, which posted higher temperatures than South Florida on Wednesday. Highs in the mid- to upper 90s were widespread across northern New England, marking one of the hottest days in the region’s history.

Here are some of the records that were set:

Boston hit 98 degrees, a calendar-day record.
Millinocket, Maine, hit 97 degrees, a calendar-day record.
Caribou, Maine, hit 96 degrees, matching its all-time high. It also posted a heat index of 103, the highest on record.
Bangor and Houlton in Maine tied calendar-day records of 95.
Reading, Pa., tied a calendar-day record of 95.
Syracuse, N.Y., tied a calendar-day record of 95.
Poughkeepsie, N.Y., hit 94 degrees, a calendar-day record.
Cleveland tied a calendar-day record of 92.
Buffalo tied a calendar-day record of 90.
Elkins, W.Va., hit 90 degrees, a calendar-day record.
DuBois, Pa., hit 89 degrees, a calendar-day record.

On the flip side, a number of places in the Mountain West set record low temperatures. For example, record lows of 39 and 32 were set in Billings, Mont., and Sheridan, Wyo., respectively.

By: Jason Samenow

5:51 PM: Here’s how many people in the U.S. may be exposed to dangerous heat today

The Post is tracking the potential for dangerous heat using the heat index, which accounts for the combined impact of temperature and humidity — the higher the humidity, the more difficult it is for the body to cool itself off through sweating.

See how high the heat index is expected to reach where you live in the next seven days using our lookup tool.

By: Naema Ahmed and John Muyskens

4:35 PM: Video: What exactly is a heat dome?

Washington Post weather reporter Kasha Patel breaks down the difference between a heat wave and a heat dome, and explains some of the contributors to this excessive heat.

By: Allie Caren

3:54 PM: ‘It is what it is. ... This is summer.’: Some unfazed by D.C. heat.

Denver Hawkins, who said he is known as “Denver the Vendor,” was unfazed by the heat in Washington on Wednesday.

He had been on the National Mall since 8 a.m. selling T-shirts and hats, a business he said he has been operating since 1996. He knows how to stay cool.

“It is what it is,” he said. “We have winter, spring, summer and fall. This is summer.”

Hawkins wore a fan around his neck and a cold towel around his back, and above his head, he held an umbrella.

“It’s called common sense,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for years.”

On the grass just below the Washington Monument, Theo, not yet 2 years old, bounded through sprinklers. His brown hair was damp against his forehead, his grin nearly the width of his face.

“He doesn’t complain, but I could tell he was hot,” said his mom, Victoria Bolden, 29, who was watching her son play.

Bolden, her husband and Theo had come to D.C. from Fort Meade, Md., for Juneteenth. Around 1:30 p.m., they were wandering around the monuments before heading to a celebratory festival.

“The heat just made me pack more,” Bolden said. “Waters and extra clothing and a swimsuit for when I knew we would find water.”

Theo crossed one sprinkler after another, throwing his hands up as if he could hold the cold water in his palms.

By: Emily Davies

3:33 PM: They came to the National Mall to celebrate Juneteenth and were greeted by the heat

Crowds converged around trucks selling slushies and the rare bench blanketed by a tree’s shadow. One man stood facing the Washington Monument and let a sprinkler douse him in water. Children dipped their toes in the fountain built to honor those who served in World War II. A small bottle of Gatorade cost $3.

It was 1 p.m. on the National Mall, and it was pushing 90 degrees.

“D.C. heat — don’t let it beat you!” one man selling water yelled to a crowd walking down 17th Street.

Beside him, his drinks were submerged in water; the ice meant to keep them cool had melted hours earlier.

Bethany Eddleman and Christah Blackwell fan themselves to keep cool at a Juneteenth celebration in Washington, D.C.

At a food truck nearby, Shawnna Moore, 45, ordered a mango crushed ice and snow cones for her kids. They had come from Indianapolis to celebrate Juneteenth in D.C. and had just finished visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Moore wore leggings that reached her ankles and laughed when asked if the weather had changed her plans.

“This is not hot,” she said. “We can walk for days in here.”

“You know how a sauna feels?” said her husband, Martin Moore, 52. “That’s how it feels in Indianapolis. You can’t breathe.”

By: Emily Davies

3:05 PM: Forecasts for 11 cities at core of heat dome as it nears peak intensity

The zone from the Great Lakes to the Northeast is now sizzling under a potentially record-breaking heat dome. The intense heat will spread southward into the Mid-Atlantic by Friday.

Temperatures will soar into the mid-90s to near 100 in many locations, while heat indexes — a measure that also factors in the humidity — will rise to near 100 to 105.

Heat alerts are in effect across 14 states in the affected regions as officials warn people, especially those without access to air conditioning, to take precautions against heat illness.

Here’s a city-by-city forecast for the heat this week into the weekend.

By: Dan Stillman

2:54 PM: Analysis from Sarah Raza, Climate Intern

The National Weather Service said the heat index in Caribou, Maine, reached an unofficial all-time record high of 103 degrees on Wednesday, surpassing the previous record of 100.7 degrees.

The heat index is a measure of how hot it feels, factoring in both the temperature and humidity.

The temperature itself soared to 96 degrees, tying Caribou’s all-time record — a number previously seen in 2020, 1977 and 1944, the NWS said.

2:02 PM: Where national parks are dangerously hot this week

To the delight of frugal travelers, Wednesday is one of the National Park Service’s six free-entry days in 2024. But the good news, meant to honor Juneteenth, is bad timing from a weather perspective. The holiday falls in the middle of an extreme, prolonged heat wave plaguing much of the country.

Extreme heat is a routine issue each summer for many desert parks, including Grand Canyon, Arches, Joshua Tree and Death Valley. At Big Bend National Park in west Texas, temperatures can surpass 100 degrees by late morning and stay dangerously high until the sun goes down.

“This week will honestly be business as usual for us,” said Robert Alvarez, executive director for Visit Big Bend. “We always expect June to be just crazy hot. … We’ve already hit 113 down south already.”

Read more about where national parks are experiencing unusually high heat this week.

By: Natalie B. Compton and Hannah Sampson

1:25 PM: Why the first heat wave of the summer can be the most dangerous

In an average June, just a few days reach 90 degrees in Detroit. But by the time the year’s first blast of summer breaks in the Motor City this weekend, nearly a week of intense heat will have passed.

And some of the most dangerous heat waves are those just like the one gripping parts of the Midwest and Northeast this week: hitting early in the season, when people have had less time to adjust to the conditions, and in places well outside the Sun Belt where people don’t often experience such sustained levels of tropical-like warmth.

“We’re starting pretty early in the year,” said Abdul El-Sayed, health officer for Wayne County, Mich. “People aren’t as used to heat this early in the summer.”

As global temperatures rise, intense heat is arriving sooner and raising risks of illnesses and death among people who aren’t acclimatized to it, experts said. In many cases, heat can overwhelm the body well before a person realizes it, they added — especially at this time of year, when memories of heat-beating strategies are stale and physiological adaptations to heat need a jump-start.

Read the full story

By: Scott Dance

12:54 PM: Groups urge FEMA to expand disaster relief to extreme heat

Labor, health and climate groups petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week to recognize extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters — a step that would allow state, tribal and local governments in places affected by extreme heat or smoke to apply for disaster relief funding.

The 31 groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity, argued that it would help mitigate the effects of heat and smoke by providing specific funding for short- and long-term solutions, from masks to cooling shelters to government services. Though some FEMA money is already available through other channels for things like cooling centers, the disaster-relief change would broaden the scope of the mitigation measures that get funding, the groups argued.

“It’s past time for FEMA to address the climate emergency head-on. That means unlocking crucial funding for local governments to build robust and resilient solutions,” Jean Su, energy justice director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “That’s a critical way we can protect workers and vulnerable communities.”

FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

The petition asks FEMA to change the regulatory definition of a major disaster to include both extreme heat and wildfire smoke, which can each pose major risks to human health. Outdoor workers, along with people with some preexisting health conditions and the elderly, can be particularly vulnerable.

Making the change would “ensure workers and their communities — especially marginalized communities — have the resources they need to prepare for and respond to the ongoing threats of climate change,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO.

By: Justine McDaniel

10:47 AM: Where records could be set in the coming days

Record highs at risk on Wednesday indicated by boxes over forecast high. (weatherbell.com)

Dozens of record-hot afternoon highs in the 90s to near 100, and warm overnight lows in the 70s to near 80, are likely to be threatened daily through the weekend.

On Wednesday, records are predicted as far north as Caribou, near Maine’s northern border with Canada. Record highs are also possible in Buffalo; Albany, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; Cleveland; and Detroit, among others.

Some of the many calendar-day records that could fall through the weekend include:

Millinocket, Maine, on Wednesday: A forecast of 96 would beat the record of 95.
Caribou, Maine, on Wednesday: The National Weather Service predicts it will post a heat index — which takes into account both temperature and humidity — of around 104 degrees, the highest ever recorded.
Manchester, N.H., on Thursday: The forecast of 98 would tie the record of 98.
Philadelphia on Friday: Temperatures in the upper 90s could test or top the record of 99.
Charleston, W.Va., on Saturday: A forecast high of 98 would tie the record of 98.
Washington on Sunday: The forecast for the capital city is 99, which would break a record of 98 for the day.

An even greater number of warm morning-low records are likely through at least early next week.

By: Ian Livingston

10:18 AM: In cities baking in the heat, pools open for some relief

The heat wave is hitting even before the public-pool season has gotten fully underway.

In Washington, D.C., where pools were set to open full time starting next week, officials opened some pools early on Wednesday.

In Philadelphia, the timing was better, as pools began opening Monday. Twelve were open by Wednesday and others were set to open later in the week, according to the city’s schedule. And in Pittsburgh, pools opened Saturday.

The season for New York City’s outdoor pools doesn’t start until June 27. The city’s spray showers are operating, and residents can use a map to find the water features, drinking fountains and shade.

In Detroit, 10 recreation centers, some with pools, will offer relief from the heat for residents through the week. The Adams Butzel Complex and the Patton Recreation Center pool were to open Wednesday.

A short drive from Detroit, Dearborn has waived its entry fees this week to the Ford Woods Park and Dunworth pools for residents.

Cleveland’s 17 outdoor pools will be open Wednesday through Friday, and on Mondays and Tuesdays, residents can visit the indoor pools at any of 13 recreation centers. Splash pads throughout the city can also provide a cool-down.

By: Justine McDaniel and Sarah Raza

9:52 AM: This tool will help you know when it might be dangerously hot outside

Being prepared is a key step to staying safe on scorching days. To help people better understand how they could be affected by heat, the National Weather Service, together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently launched an experimental online tool that provides seven-day heat-risk forecasts for wherever you are in the contiguous United States.

Instead of users having to interpret a traditional forecast to figure out whether they might be exposed to dangerous heat, the tool uses weather and health data to determine what temperatures are unusual and could lead to risky conditions for human health, especially for people who don’t have access to adequate cooling and hydration.

The tool presents that risk as five categories on a scale from 0 (green, which denotes little to no risk) to 4 (magenta, or extreme risk).

Read the full story

By: Allyson Chiu

9:24 AM: These areas are under heat alerts

Heat alerts as of Wednesday morning.

About 75 million people from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast live in a location under an excessive-heat warning or heat advisory.

All of New England, except a couple of coastal locations; all of Pennsylvania and Ohio; and most of New York and New Jersey make up much of the heat alert zone early Wednesday. Other states partially covered by the alerts are Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Delaware.

An especially rare heat warning runs from southern New Hampshire through a swath of eastern Maine away from the shore. It’s the first ever issued for portions of that region.

Cities in Maine under heat warnings include Bangor, Augusta, Lewiston and Sanford. In New Hampshire, Nashua, Manchester, Concord and Conway are included. Record highs and heat indexes (which factor in humidity) near and over 100 degrees are a good bet in much of the region.

Pittsburgh also is within a heat warning through Friday evening, for heat-index values reaching 105 to 110. Farther west, about a dozen counties are under heat warnings just south of Michigan’s southern border, including Fort Wayne in Indiana and Defiance in Ohio.

Heat advisories, for somewhat less intense but still troublesome temperatures, are in effect for Boston; Hartford, Conn.; Binghamton, N.Y.; Philadelphia; Cleveland; Dayton, Ohio; and Detroit, among other cities and towns.

More than 250 million Americans will experience highs of at least 90 degrees this week, including most of the Eastern United States.

Additional heat alerts are likely in coming days for areas farther south as the core of the heat dome shifts.

By: Ian Livingston

9:00 AM: How hot has it already been?

Tuesday still marked the early phase of this burgeoning heat wave, but highs reached the 90s from the Great Lakes to Maine and most areas to the south. Heat indexes, which also factor in humidity, approached 100 in many areas.

The highest heat focused just north of the sprawling heat dome center, where hot air off the continent was drawn eastward and heated further.

Hartford, Conn., hit 95 with a maximum heat index of 104. Manchester, N.H., managed a high of 97 with a heat index of 100. Albany, N.Y. also touched 100 for a heat index. Farther south, Washington reached a high of 94 with a top heat index of 99.

Here are some of the record highs that were set:

High temperatures through 5 p.m. Tuesday. Only those of at least 90 degrees are displayed. (NWS)

Many record warm lows were established Tuesday, including locations near the border with Canada, such as Burlington, Vt., where the low dipped to only 74.

On Monday, several cities from the Midwest to the Northeast set records, including:

Records are predicted to be more numerous and widespread in the Ohio Valley and Northeast on Wednesday.

By: Jason Samenow and Ian Livingston

7:03 AM: How climate change is influencing this heat wave

The Climate Shift Index from Climate Central, a science communications organization based in Princeton, N.J., indicates that human-caused climate change is making this week’s record testing heat at least 1.5 to two times more probable.

Global temperatures have been at record levels for a year because of both the El Niño climate pattern and human-caused climate warming. With El Niño having dissipated and La Niña taking over, global temperatures should come down somewhat in the coming months.

By: Ian Livingston

6:31 AM: When will the heat end?

Maximum forecast for HeatRisk over the next week.

The northernmost areas seeing extreme heat through midweek will get relief in coming days and lasting into early next week as a cold front passes. A break could mean a few days closer to average rather than any sustained cool-down.

To the south, the heat may ease only slightly early next week — with temperatures close to normal early-summer levels.

As June ends and July begins, the most reliable computer weather models are projecting hotter than normal conditions persisting across much of the nation.