Roughly 130 million people were under threat Saturday and into next week from a long-running heat wave that already has broken records with dangerously high temperatures — and is expected to shatter more from East Coast to West Coast, forecasters said.
Oppressive heat and humidity could team up to spike temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 degrees Celsius) in parts of the Pacific Northwest, the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, said Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
In Oregon, records could be broken in cities including Eugene, Portland and Salem, Asherman said. Dozens of other records throughout the U.S. could fall, Asherman added, causing millions to seek relief from the blanket of heat in cooling centers from Bullhead City, Arizona, to Norfolk, Virginia.
The National Weather Service said Saturday it was extending the excessive heat warning for much of the Southwest into Friday.
"A dangerous and historic heatwave is just getting started across the area, with temperatures expected to peak during the Sunday-Wednesday timeframe," the National Weather Service in Las Vegas, Nevada, said in an updated forecast.
Excessive heat will likely continue through Friday, the service said.
Brian Curtis swims in the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, July 5, 2024.
In sweltering Las Vegas, where the temperature hit 100 F (37.7 C) by 10:30 a.m., Marko Boscovich said the best way to beat the heat is in a seat at a slot machine with a cold beer inside an air-conditioned casino.
"But you know, after it hits triple digits it's about all the same to me," said Boscovich, who was visiting from Sparks, Nevada, to see a Dead & Company concert later Saturday night at the Sphere. "Maybe they'll play one of my favorites — 'Cold Rain and Snow.'"
Heat records shatter
By 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said the temperature already had risen to 100 F (36.6 C) in Phoenix, which saw a record high of 118 F (47.7 C) for Friday.
Meteorologists predict temperatures will be near daily records region-wide through most, if not all, of the coming week with lower desert highs reaching 115 to 120 F (46.1 to 48.8 C).
Rare heat advisories had been extended even into the upper elevations, including around Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border. The National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, warned of "major heat risk impacts, even in the mountains."
"How hot are we talking? Well, high temperatures across (western Nevada and northeastern California) won't get below 100 degrees (37.8 C) until next weekend," the service posted online. "And unfortunately, there won't be much relief overnight either."
A person cools off during the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, July 5, 2024.
A new heat record for the day was set Friday in California's Death Valley — one of the hottest places on Earth — with the mercury climbing to 127 F (52.8 C). The old mark of 122 F (50 C) was last tied in 2013.
Palm Springs, California, hit 124 F (51.1 C) Friday, breaking the city's record of 123 F (50.5 C).
More extreme highs are in the near forecast, including 129 F (53.8 degrees C) for Sunday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, and then around 130 (54.4 C) through Wednesday. The hottest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 degrees (56.67 C) in Death Valley in July 1913, though some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 130 F (54.4 C) recorded there in July 2021.
Worst yet to come
The worst was yet to come across much of the West, with triple-digit temperatures likely higher than average into next week, the National Weather Service said.
The Eastern U.S. also was bracing for more hot temperatures. Baltimore and other parts of Maryland were under an excessive heat warning, as heat index values could climb to 110 F (43 C), forecasters said.
Heat leads to some deaths
In Arizona's Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year, along with more than 160 other suspected heat deaths are still under investigation, according to the county's most recent report.
That does not include the death of a 10-year-old boy this week in Phoenix who suffered a "heat-related medical event" while hiking with family at South Mountain Park and Preserve, according to police.