A historic and deadly heat wave that has gripped much of the South for over two weeks will expand into parts of the Midwest this week, with more than 64 million Americans in 13 states at risk of developing heat-related illnesses unless proper precautions are taken.
The heat wave turned deadly for both humans and animals when a father and son from Florida died Friday during a hiking trip in extreme heat in Texas’ Big Bend National Park, and a police K9 in Shreveport, Louisiana, died of a heat-related injury Saturday while heroically chasing down suspects last week, according to police there.
And there is no end in sight to these extreme temperatures as the FOX Forecast Center expects the heat to continue until at least the first part of July.
Heat alerts have been posted across much of Texas for 13 days now, and those will continue for the foreseeable future. Last week, heat alerts expanded into parts of the Southwest and Southeast as the ridge of high pressure bringing the intense heat continued to grow.
Now heat alerts have expanded once again to include portions of the Midwest and Mississippi Valley as temperatures there are expected to climb through the rest of the week.
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The excessive heat will remain across the Southwest and Southeast on Tuesday, with temperatures expected to reach around 110 degrees in Midland and Laredo in Texas. Dallas could hit 103 and Houston is expected to stay around 100 degrees.
To the east, Jackson, Mississippi is expected to see a high temperature around 91 degrees and to the west, Tucson, Arizona, could hit 108.
The “feels-like” temperatures will also range from 110-115 degrees.
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The heat will begin to build up into the Midwest by Wednesday, with temperatures in Kansas City, Missouri, expected to hover around the century mark through at least Thursday.
Memphis, Tennessee, is forecast to stay in the low to mid-90s on Wednesday but could hit 101 on Thursday.
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Records have been falling like dominos across Texas and parts of the South for days now, and as temperatures begin to creep up elsewhere, records in other states are now in jeopardy.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, could break its old daily record if temperatures hit 106 degrees on Thursday, and Springfield, Missouri, could also see a broken record if they hit 102 degrees.
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Overall, the main driver of heat-related impacts differs across the region, with higher air temperatures in the deserts and High Plains/western Plains, and lower air temperatures but higher humidity and resultant heat indices to the east, both contributing to a significant risk of heat-related illnesses, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Long range forecasts indicate excessive heat will remain in these regions for at least the next several days.