A deadly and historic heat wave that has been scorching the South for more than two weeks is finally releasing its tight grip on the region. However, those hot temperatures have now shifted into the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, putting millions of people at risk of heat-related illnesses through Independence Day.
The deaths of more than 10 people in Texas have been attributed to the excessive heat that has baked the southern U.S. since the middle of June.
Among the deaths include a father and son from Florida who died on June 23 during a hiking trip in Texas’ Big Bend National Park. In addition, a police K9 in Shreveport, Louisiana, died of a heat-related injury on June 24 while chasing down suspects.
THESE ARE THE ALL-TIME HOTTEST TEMPERATURES EVER RECORDED IN EACH STATE
Heat Advisories have been issued along the East Coast from the Southeast into the mid-Atlantic through at least Monday evening.
This includes 14 million people in places like Norfolk in Virginia, Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina, Charleston in South Carolina, Savannah in Georgia, and Jacksonville in Florida.
High temperatures are expected to be in the 90s from Texas to the East Coast on Monday. That’s much cooler than the high temperatures ranging from 110 to 115 degrees across the Lone Star State for weeks.
However, with humidity on the rise in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, the “feels-like” temperatures will be much higher than that.
Feels-like temperatures on Monday will settle in the lower to mid-100s in cities like Raleigh, Charleston and Orlando, Florida.
So if your Independence Day plans include travel to one of the theme parks in Orlando, be prepared to take plenty of breaks, drink fluids and get into an air-conditioned building to try and beat the heat.
HOW OFTEN DO TEMPERATURES HIT 100 DEGREES IN MAJOR US CITIES?
There won’t be much change in the forecast as America celebrates the Fourth of July. Temperatures will again be in the 90s from the Plains to the mid-Atlantic, with feels-like temperatures reaching around 105 degrees in Orlando and Charleston and 100 in Raleigh.