How hot will it be this weekend? Heat wave shifts east to Plains, Midwest
An unrelenting and deadly heat wave baking much of the West Coast is heading east through the weekend, bringing scorching temperatures across the Plains, Southeast and Midwest regions.
The heat wave has set dozens of all-time records and has been linked to deaths in California, Oregon and Nevada. Through Saturday, much of the West will remain under excessive heat warnings as temperatures in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Las Vegas are projected to exceed 100 degrees before trending down to their historical averages, according to the National Weather Service.
The heat will continue to crush residents in southeast Texas, over a million of whom remain without power in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which stormed ashore west of Galveston early Monday, according to Poweroutage.us. Since Tuesday, the region has been under heat advisories as afternoon highs have crept into the 90s and high humidity has pushed heat index levels into the triple digits.
With the power out, people have taken to their cars, packed the homes of relatives or are sleeping at cooling centers opened by the city. At least one death is believed to be related to heat exposure while at least two people in Harris County, which encompasses Houston, have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, a major risk when operating home generators.
Forecasters say the miserable conditions will linger over southeast Texas through the weekend. CenterPoint Energy, the main utility provider in Houston, says it has restored power to more than 1.2 million homes and businesses, and it plans to restore power to 80% of the remaining buildings by Sunday. However, thousands of residents, especially those near the Gulf Coast, will have to wait into next week for their power to come back on.
As temperatures drop in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington this weekend, they will tick up in states to the east, including Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming, according to AccuWeather, which said highs in Salt Lake City are forecast to be within a few degrees of 105 through Saturday while Denver could see afternoon highs in the low 100s.
"Daily record highs can be challenged each day," AccuWeather said.
By next week, scorching temperatures are set to bake parts of the Great Plains, bringing temperatures well above historical averages in parts of Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois. Meanwhile, in the southeast, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee are projected to experience dangerous heat, according to the National Weather Service's HeatRisk index.
The Northeast faced extreme heat this week before storms associated with Hurricane Beryl swept over the region, causing major flooding in Vermont that caused at least two deaths. As the storms subside this weekend, temperatures across the mid-Atlantic region, including major metro areas such as Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City are forecast to reach the mid 90s.
Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heat wave temperatures will bring brutal conditions to central US
