The deadly heat wave broiling the southern half of the U.S. will continue this week, and the FOX Forecast Center warns that this stubborn weather pattern could still last for another few weeks.
Record-breaking temperatures have left millions of Americans looking for ways to beat the heat, either by heading to the beach or pool to cool off or simply staying inside with the air conditions cranking to ward off any heat-related illnesses such as heatstroke or heat exhaustion.
For many, however, the heat has simply been too much to handle, as heat-related deaths have been reported from coast-to-coast. Reported deaths include hikers inside California’s Death Valley National Park and children mistakenly left inside vehicles for hours under the summer sun.
More than 80 million Americans will feel above-average temperatures on Tuesday, and nearly 50 million people from the Southwest to the Southeast are under a heat alert through at least Wednesday. But with no end to the heat wave in sight, those will likely be extended and expanded as high temperatures creep farther east.
Heat Advisories stretch from the Central Plains to the Gulf Coast, with millions in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi under an Excessive Heat Warning as temperatures soar and “feels-like” temperatures even higher.
The FOX Forecast Center says the deadly heat wave will continue across parts of the central and southern Plains, lower Mississippi Valley, Gulf Coast and the Southeast as the stubborn area of high pressure remains anchored over the region.
On Tuesday, triple-digit high temperatures are forecast across much of the region from the Plains to Florida, with major cities again being warned to take proper precautions to stay safe.
High temperatures will exceed 100 degrees across Texas, including Amarillo, Midland, Dallas and Houston.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, to the north, will also see a high temperature in the triple digits.
The Gulf Coast will be a bit cooler, with forecast high temperatures “only” in the upper 90s.
The feels-like temperatures will be much higher across the region, with many areas across the region feeling like it’s higher than 110 degrees.
The FOX Forecast Center says portions of the south-central Plains should cool off a bit by the weekend as a front dips farther to the south. However, the heat and humidity are expected to extend farther to the east as the week continues, bringing hot temperatures to a larger area of the Southeast and Carolinas in the mid-Atlantic through at least the middle of the week.
Phoenix has been dealing with extreme heat for more than a month. The city has seen high temperatures above 110 degrees for 31 consecutive days.
But despite a brief break on Monday, which only saw a high temperature of 108 degrees, Phoenix will likely get back above 110 degrees as the ridge of high pressure expands across the Southwest this weekend.