Air quality alerts, heat warnings
Triple-digit temperatures hit the states as the heat wave takes its toll on Americans
More than 80 million Americans are under heat warnings as record temperatures sweep across the country.
Claire Hardwick, Associated Press
Continuous smoke from nearly 1,000 wildfires in Canada has triggered air quality alerts in large parts of the United States and is expected to linger through Tuesday, meteorologists warned Monday.
Canadian wildfire smoke “will remain in the picture” through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said, as winds sweeping across the Canadian prairie continue to blow more smoke into the northern high plains, the Midwest, the Great Lakes, central Tennessee and North Carolina, and into the Northeast.
“Smoke concentrations should diminish over parts of the heart of the country on Tuesday but could cause poor air quality along the east coast,” wrote Peter Molinax, a meteorologist at the Met Office.
And in Cleveland, the Air Quality Index reached 159 early Monday, putting the city’s air firmly in the unhealthy red. Chicago at 154 and Pittsburgh at 151 weren’t much better, and Indianapolis at an unhealthy 143.
More than 80 million Americans face heat alarms
The smoke warning comes as more than 80 million Americans faced heat alerts Monday morning. The weather service said triple-digit temperatures are expected to affect residents from Texas to California.
Heat-related warnings, watches and warnings have affected nearly 100 million people, or nearly a third of Americans, over the past 30 days as summer temperatures begin to roll in across the country. Temperatures in some desert areas are expected to rise to over 120 degrees during the day and remain in the 90s throughout the night. Temperatures expected this week in the Southwest will range from 100 to 110 degrees, even as high as 115 in parts of California, Nevada and Arizona.
“Record temperatures are expected every day through the middle of the week in the Four Corners states (Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico) from Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley and southern Florida,” wrote Molineux. “Daytime highs will routinely be found in the triple digits in the desert Southwest and deep in the heart of Texas.”
Heat warnings, excessive heat warnings, and excessive heat hours have been issued for California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Florida.
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High humidity in the air combined with a slow-moving cold front from the west will cause heavy rains and storms in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. Soils in the Northeast are already highly saturated with water after heavy flooding in Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont last week, according to the Weather Service. This increases the risk of flash floods in those areas.
The Weather Prediction Center has issued a moderate risk of flash flooding for the New England region. Residents should beware of impassable roads, flowing creaks and potential mudslides. All states from Virginia to Maine are included in the minor risk area.
At least five people have died and a 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister are still missing after they were swept away by fast-rising floodwaters on Pennsylvania Road Saturday, officials said.
“It’s very likely” that there were more victims, Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck told the Bucks County Courier Times, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The weather service said several rains and thunderstorms will drenching parts of the Midwest, Ohio Valley, Northeast and Florida through Tuesday.
Severe weather is also likely on Tuesday in the middle Mississippi Valley and lower Ohio Valley, where storms can produce damaging winds, large hail and flash floods.
Weather Watchs and Warnings for the United States
National weather radar
Contributing: Joe Ciavaglia, Michael Haddon, Liam Price, J. Stas Hutt; Associated public relationsESS
