Sweltering heat wave grips central and southern US for a second straight day
At least 40 million people were under extreme heat warnings across central and southern parts of the United States on Monday as high temperatures and severe humidity gripped large swaths of the country for a third straight day.
Heat indexes well above 100 degrees stretched from Minnesota down to Mississippi, extending west into southern California and Nevada. Parts of the Southwest were expected to see highs of 120 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologists said the sweltering weather was the result of another heat dome — a phenomenon in which atmospheric conditions trap heat, accentuating and prolonging already high temperatures.
“It’s extraordinarily hot,” said Pete Miller, an outreach manager for the homeless services network Threshold CoC, which was passing out water bottles to residents in Omaha, Nebraska, on Sunday.
“We’re seeing a lot of people who are exhausted, drained by the heat in a way that is really dangerous,” Miller added. “The humidity is insane. You stand outside for 30 seconds and you get drenched. And it’s going to be like that all night.”
