BOSTON — Dangerously hot temperatures are expected to spread across the Central and Eastern United States on Wednesday through the weekend, with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the hardest-hit places, the National Weather Service has warned.
And even when the sun dips below the horizon, temperatures in many places are expected to remain in the 80s.
The hottest part of the country? Smack dab in the middle.
Everyone living in the region stretching from northern Oklahoma and central Nebraska through Iowa, Missouri and western Illinois should brace for a “prolonged period of dangerously hot temperatures and high humidity,” the warnings say. People in central and south central Kansas should expect to endure highs of about 102 degrees; the temperature in Des Moines was expected to hover around 100.
Excessive heat warnings have also been posted farther east, for parts of New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
All told, at least 15 million people across the United States are currently being warned of dangerously high temperatures that could affect human health between Wednesday and Friday.
By the weekend, what meteorologists are calling a “heat dome” in the middle part of the country is expected to spread into the Great Lakes and the East Coast.
Extreme heat can kill. Here’s what you can do to stay safe.
“The combination of heat and humidity can take its toll on someone who is outside and overdoing it,” said Richard Bann, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center. “It can be life-threatening.”
Last year, 108 people died from extreme heat, compared to just 30 who died from cold, according to statistics on weather-related fatalities released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Here are four safety recommendations from the National Weather Service:
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Drink plenty of fluids.
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Stay in an air-conditioned room.
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Stay out of the sun.
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Check on relatives and neighbors, especially the elderly.
Some of the country’s biggest cities can expect to swelter.
So far, Philadelphia is the only major city on the East Coast under an excessive heat warning. Meteorologists are predicting highs there of 100 degrees. But New York, Washington and Boston are expected to be uncomfortably hot, with temperatures soaring into the high 90s and above; Chicago can expect the same.
Saturday’s expected highs are 97 in Boston, 100 in Washington and 98 in New York. Chicago is expected to see a high of 97 degrees on Friday and 94 on Saturday.
Jen Hatton, spokeswoman for the St. Louis Public Library, said staff members were preparing for a possible increase in traffic to the library, which serves as a heating and cooling center for the community, as the heat rises on Wednesday and beyond. “We’re a public space, open to anyone that needs to come in and get out of the elements,” Ms. Hatton said. “They are welcome to come in and use the facilities to get away from the temperature.”
In Iowa, football practice is off, but the 2020 campaign rolls on.
Heat warnings have Iowa farmers worrying about their corn, after planting was delayed by a soggy spring that has not left the plants much time to take root.
Despite the scotching heat, Democratic candidates for president have continued to crisscross the state. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota marched three miles over the weekend in sauna-like heat, and earlier this week, Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., sweated through a forum on gun violence. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is expected to attend a AARP forum in Sioux City
But ordinary people are shuffling everything from church picnics to sporting activities.
Steven Rogers, director of operators for Eastern Iowa Elite, a middle-school football club, said that two football practices have already been canceled and the team tryouts this coming Saturday have been moved indoors.
“You can’t really expect the kids to perform at the highest level if they are outside in this heat, beyond the fact that its totally dangerous,” he said. “There have been a couple of kids having some pretty bad health issues related to heat and overexertion. It’s just not safe.”
