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Extreme heat warnings affected tens of millions of people in the United States on Tuesday as cities including Chicago broke records at the start of a week of sweltering weather.
Midwestern states began baking Monday in what the National Weather Service called a dangerous and long-lasting heat wave that is expected to stretch from Iowa to Maine through at least Friday.
New York Gov. Cathy Hochul said Tuesday that she has activated the National Guard to help with any heat emergencies that develop over the next few days.
“This is a time of significant risk and we are doing everything we can to make sure all lives are protected,” Hochul said during a morning briefing.
Chicago broke a temperature record set in 1957 on Monday with a high of 36.1 degrees. Hot and muggy conditions will continue this week with peak heat indices near 37.7 degrees at times, the National Weather Service in Chicago said in a post on the X social platform.
The heat didn’t stop people in Chicago’s Grant Park from ordering the hottest dishes on the menu at the food truck where Emmanuel Ramos is the chef, WBBM-TV reported.
“They order the hottest things on the hottest day,” he said. “They order ramen, corn — they just want everything hot. I don’t know why,” Ramos said. “Right now something that would be good is smoothies.”
Last year, the US saw the most heat waves – unusually hot weather lasting more than two days – since 1936. Authorities warned residents to take precautions.
Much of the Midwest and Northeast were under heat warnings or watches, with officials opening cooling centers and urging people to limit outdoor activities when possible and check in with family members and neighbors who may be vulnerable from the heat.
The heat has been especially dangerous in recent years in Phoenix, where 645 people died of heat-related causes in 2023, a record. Temperatures there reached 44.4 degrees on Saturday. Weather service forecasters say the first two weeks of June in Phoenix have been the hottest start to the month on record there.
Ted Whittock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, advised reducing outdoor time between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., staying hydrated and wearing light, loose-fitting clothing. More than 100 cooling centers were opened in the city and surrounding areas, including two new overnight ones.
In Southern California, firefighters stepped up containment of a large wildfire burning in steep, inaccessible areas of mountains north of Los Angeles. But hot, dry and windy weather could hamper their efforts on Tuesday. Wildfires also burned in New Mexico, forcing the evacuation of a village of 7,000 people.
The warming temperatures come amid growing concern about the effects of extreme heat and smoke from wildfires. The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity sent a petition Monday to the Federal Emergency Management Agency asking it to recognize extreme heat and smoke from wildfires as major disasters.
The agency did not immediately provide a specific response to the petition. A FEMA spokesman for the western US states said there is nothing to prevent declaring an extreme heat emergency, but noted that there must be an immediate threat to life and safety that local authorities cannot respond to.
While much of the US is hot, late-season snow is forecast for the northern Rockies, with parts of Montana and north-central Idaho under a winter storm warning. As much as 51 centimeters was predicted for higher elevations around Glacier National Park.
Meanwhile, a fresh batch of tropical moisture brought a growing threat of heavy rain and flash flooding to the central Gulf Coast.
This year’s hurricane season is expected to be among the most active in recent memory.
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