Extreme heat spread across Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas, Colorado and Kansas, as severe weather swept across many parts of the United States on Sunday.
On the other hand, unseasonably cold conditions prevailed in the Pacific Northwest, snow was heading north of the Rocky Mountains and heavy rain was forecast from the northern Plains to the Upper Midwest.
The National Weather Service estimated that more than 63 million people were under heat advisories Sunday, stretching from the Southwest to the north, through Denver and Chicago.
Temperatures in Phoenix, which reached 44.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday, are expected to get closer to that on Sunday. Weather service forecasters say the first two weeks of June in Phoenix were the hottest on record for an early June.
“We’ve already seen some pretty high temperatures in our area,” said Ted Whittock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix. “We recommend everyone reduce their time spent outdoors between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., stay hydrated and wear light, loose-fitting clothing. »
Mr. Whittock said the heat in the Phoenix metro area will ease a bit Monday through Wednesday, with maximum temperatures rising as the week progresses, likely prompting another excessive heat warning.
The heat has been particularly dangerous in recent years in the Phoenix metro area, where 645 people died from heat-related causes in 2023 — a record.
The City and County of Maricopa have adopted additional measures this year in hopes of keeping people safer, including two new nighttime cooling centers where people can rest in air conditioning after the sun sets. There are more than 100 other cooling centers opened since 1er May, where people can get cold water and sit in a cool space during the day.
In neighboring New Mexico, a heat advisory was in effect this weekend for the plains of Chaves County, including Roswell, where the high was expected to reach 41.6 degrees Celsius on Monday. The high for Albuquerque was forecast at 37.2 degrees on Sunday, cooling slightly to 37.6 degrees on Monday. Maximum temperatures are expected to approach 40.6 degrees in El Paso, Texas, which has now opened five cooling centers.
Temperatures near 37.7 degrees were expected in the Denver metro area and southern areas. Thunderstorms were possible in communities north of Denver.
The heat wave was moving eastward Sunday across the Plains and Great Lakes region and is expected to arrive in the Northeast by Tuesday. The threat of thunderstorms with potential high winds and heavy precipitation was growing in the Chicago area, even as heat indexes were expected to reach near 100 degrees oF (37.7 0C) in the middle of the week.
As the heat wave spreads eastward, temperatures in Washington and the rest of the Mid-Atlantic as well as New England were likely to reach highs between 35 and 37 degrees over the week, with excessive humidity making it even more oppressive.
Last year, the United States experienced the most heat waves, consisting of abnormally hot weather lasting more than two days, since 1936.
While the temperature across much of the country is sweltering, late-season snow was forecast for the northern Rockies Monday and Tuesday. Parts of Montana and north-central Idaho were under a winter watch, with up to 6 inches of heavy, wet snow expected in the mountains around Missoula, Montana. Up to 51 centimeters was predicted for higher elevations around Glacier National Park.
Meanwhile, a new round of tropical moisture will bring an increasing threat of heavy rain and flash flooding to the central Gulf Coast Sunday through Monday. Heavy rain is expected to begin Monday morning, and moisture will move toward the Gulf Coast by Tuesday.
Intense flooding from heavy rains continued to disperse across South Florida, where parts of Miami and Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas were left underwater in recent days as storms dumped up to 50 centimeters.
This unnamed storm system coincided with the early start of the hurricane season, which this year is expected to be among the most active in recent memory.