Buckle up, America. Most of the country will experience the hottest week of the summer as the dangerously hot temperatures baking parts of the South and West for weeks begin to expand to the East Coast, with more than 250 million people from coast-to-coast seeing above-average heat.
This is due to a shifting upper air pattern that will plunge the East Coast into dangerous heat and humidity later in the week.
More than 32 million Americans from the West Coast to the Plains are under either Excessive Heat Warnings or Heat Advisories as temperatures on Monday begin to soar. The Excessive Heat Warnings are limited to the western U.S., including Salt Lake City and Phoenix.
Heat Advisories are much more expansive and encompass areas from the Southwest to the Plains. South Florida is also under Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories. The Sunshine State has had those alerts in place for more than 20 straight days.
“It’s important to remind people that, you know, Florida, it does get hot,” FOX Weather meteorologist Jason Frazer said. “It’s just that we’ve been historically seeing temperatures anywhere between 10 to about 15 degrees above where they should be for this time of year.”
Heat alerts are likely to expand as the heat builds across the U.S.
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With temperatures rising, taking the proper precautions to stay safe is important.
The extreme heat has claimed several lives so far this summer, including at least two people inside Death Valley National Park in California. Last week, a 10-month-old was left alone in a hot car in Florida and died. Several people have also died in Texas since June due to the extreme heat.
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Starting off in the West on Monday, temperatures will remain around the same as they have been for weeks – at or above 100 degrees.
Cities from Billings, Montana, through Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City will break 100 degrees to start the workweek.
Other cities, such as Denver and Kansas City, Missouri, will get very close to breaking 100 degrees during the day.
The “feels-like” temperatures across the region will make it feel much warmer, with Kansas City feeling warmer than 100.
The heat and humidity will begin to shift farther to the east on Tuesday, with more cities in the Midwest seeing temperatures rise.
St. Louis, for example, is expected to see a high temperature of around 94 degrees on Monday. But the feels-like temperature will make it feel like it’s 100 degrees.
Omaha, Nebraska, will also feel extremely hot. The city is forecast to see a high temperature of 93 degrees and a feels-like temperature of 103.
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The Fox Forecast Center expects Wednesday to be the hottest day of the week for millions across the U.S.
Temperatures ranging from the low 90s to 100 degrees are expected from the Plains and Midwest to the Great Lakes region, Southeast and mid-Atlantic.
Nashville has a forecast high of 96 degrees and a feels-like temperature of 100 degrees.
In the mid-Atlantic, Charlotte, North Carolina, is expected to see a high temperature of 94 degrees and a feels-like temperature of around 97 degrees.
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The hot temperatures will stick around in the east as we head toward the end of the week.
On Thursday, New York City is expected to see a high temperature of 91 degrees. But the humidity will have arrived by that time, and the feels-like temperature will make it feel like it’s close to 100 degrees.
Detroit, too, has a forecast high temperature in the low 90s, but it will feel like it’s around 100.