Tens of millions of Americans faced caution level temperatures Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
These temps ranged from around 80 degrees to over 100 degrees throughout much of the southern portion of the country, from Southern California to Florida. Especially high temperatures popped up in Texas, according to a map provided by The Weather Channel.
As of early Wednesday evening, there were excessive heat warnings throughout much of California and Texas, as well as substantial portions of Nevada and Arizona. A “building heat wave continues to expand across much of the southern tier of the U.S.,” said the National Weather Service in a Wednesday morning forecast.
It also said that “widespread heat-related advisories and warnings,” remained in place “across the Central/Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley as well as portions of the Desert Southwest and California.”
In the Plains and into the Lower Mississippi Valley – where temperatures were already in the upper 90s and low 100s – high humidity is expected to make it feel like 105 to 115 degrees.
“The heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature,” the National Weather Service explained. “This has important considerations for the human body’s comfort. When the body gets too hot, it begins to perspire or sweat to cool itself off. If the perspiration is not able to evaporate, the body cannot regulate its temperature.”
High humidity causes the evaporation process to slow down. Heat in general is a leading weather-related cause of death in the U.S., and the service provides tips for dealing with dangerous high temperatures. In the Los Angeles area, people told KNX Radio they were dealing with high temps with ice cream, fans and more.
This summer has already been filled with record-breaking temperatures, including a heat wave that rolled in the July 4 weekend. This is in part linked to El Nino, “a natural climate phenomenon marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, which occurs on average every 2-7 years,” per the NWS.
Temperatures are expected to fall slightly by Thursday, it said, “bringing a bit of relief to portions of the Central and Southern Plains,” though conditions in Texas will still be hot, with potentially record-breaking temperatures. Heat will also begin to build in parts of California Thursday, with highs rising into the mid-90s to low 100s.
“Unfortunately, the long-term outlook for the region shows a continued heatwave through this weekend and into next week,” said the NWS, which added that “while not notably higher than average, a continued uptick of temperatures into the mid-90s are relatively high and near record tying/breaking levels,” and high humidity is expected for the Florida Peninsula.
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