TOLEDO, Ohio — Stifling heat blanketed tens of millions across United States on Tuesday, forcing people and even zoo animals to find ways to cool down as summer arrives in what promises to be a sweltering week.
Extreme heat alerts stretched from Iowa to Ohio and even into the upper reaches of Michigan on Tuesday, canceling youth sports camps, nature walks and festivals across the region. The National Weather Service said the dangerous heat wave was expected to make its way across the country and into Maine until at least Friday.
An organization that provides produce to areas with limited access to fresh foods in Columbus, Ohio, prepared frozen towels for their workers in case of overheating and packed cold water to stay hydrated.
“Hydration is the key,” said Monique McCoy, market manager for the Local Matters Veggie Van.
In Toledo, Ohio, the city canceled a weekly fitness event and a neighboring suburb called off a street fair as temperatures reached the mid-90s. A food bank in upstate New York canceled deliveries for Wednesday out of concern for its staff and volunteers.
Schools in New York canceled field trips Tuesday to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, where workers turned on water misters for visitors and the animals. Elephants and other animals were getting chunks of ice in their pools, said Ted Fox, the zoo’s executive director.
“Most of the species love them,” Fox said. “Even the tigers love to lick the ice and put their heads on them when it’s this warm.”
Cities that opened cooling centers this week advised that some public libraries, senior centers and pools where residents could beat the heat will be closed Wednesday because of the Juneteenth holiday.
The blast of extreme temperatures before the official start of summer came a little too early for many.
“This is hot for just moving in to summer, so I’m hoping that we’re going to see the downward trend in the temperature here soon because this is a warm one,” said Krista Voltolini, who was selling produce at a farmer’s market in Columbus.
A recent study found that climate change is making heat waves move more slowly and affect more people for a longer time. Last year, the U.S. saw the most heat waves — abnormally hot weather lasting more than two days — since 1936.
Chicago broke a 1957 temperature record Monday with a high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 degrees Celsius). Hot and muggy conditions will continue this week with peak heat indexes near 100 F (37.7 C) at times, the National Weather Service in Chicago said in a post on the social platform X.
Much of the Midwest and Northeast were under heat warnings or watches, with officials urging people to limit outdoor activities when possible and to check in with family members and neighbors who may be vulnerable to the heat.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul activated the National Guard to assist in any heat emergencies that develop over the next several days. She also said admission and parking fees at state parks, pools and beaches would be waived on Wednesday and Thursday.
“This is a time of significant risk, and we’re doing our best to make sure that all lives are protected,” Hochul said Tuesday.
In Massachusetts, the 911 system was disrupted for nearly two hours Tuesday afternoon as the heat and humidity made it feel over 95 degrees in places. The state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said in a post on X that the cause of the outage is under investigation.
In California, wildfires erupted east of San Francisco in the state’s historic Gold Country region and in the mountains of northern Los Angeles County after what had been a quiet start to fire season. Wildfires in southern New Mexico damaged 500 buildings Tuesday in a mountain village of 7,000 people that had been evacuated with little time to spare.
While much of the U.S. swelters, late-season snow was forecast for the northern Rockies, with parts of Montana and north-central Idaho under a winter storm warning into Tuesday. As much as 20 inches (51 centimeters) was predicted for higher elevations around Glacier National Park.
Meanwhile, a fresh batch of tropical moisture was bringing an increasing threat of heavy rain and flash flooding to the central Gulf Coast. Hurricane season this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory.
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Orsagos reported from Columbus. Michael Hill in Albany, New York, contributed.
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FAQs
Record-breaking U.S. heat wave scorches the Midwest and Northeast, bringing safety measures. TOLEDO, Ohio — Stifling heat blanketed tens of millions across United States on Tuesday, forcing people and even zoo animals to find ways to cool down as summer arrives in what promises to be a sweltering week.
What was the worst heat wave in US history? ›
July 1936, part of the "Dust Bowl", produced one of the hottest summers on record across the country, especially across the Plains, Upper Midwest, and Great Lakes regions. Nationally, about 5,000 people died from the heat.
Which area of the US has the highest heat wave risk? ›
Death Valley in California captured global attention as it broke its own heat records. In July 2023, the temperature at Death Valley's Saratoga Spring station reached an astonishing 129 F, making it one of the highest reliably measured temperatures in world history.
What was the hottest summer in US history? ›
Seasonable temperatures returned in the autumn. Summer 1936 remained the warmest summer on record in the USA since official records began in 1895, until 2021. February 1936 was the coldest February on record, and 5 of the 12 months were below average, leaving the full year 1936 at just above the average.
What is causing the US heat wave? ›
Sizzling daytime temperatures that triggered cases of heat stroke in parts of the United States were 35 times more likely and 2.5 degrees hotter (1.4 degrees Celsius) because of the warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, World Weather Attribution, a collection of scientists that run rapid and non-peer ...
What is the hottest heat wave ever recorded? ›
During this heat wave, Death Valley recorded a record high temperature of 57 °C (134 °F) at Furnace Creek, which still remains the highest ambient air temperature recorded on Earth. 1921 – Hottest July on record across Eastern Canada and parts of the Northeastern US, part of a very warm year in those places.
What was the hottest decade in US history? ›
(WFLA) — A common talking point aimed at refuting human-caused climate change is that the 1930s was the hottest decade in recorded history. This is true, but only for the United States during the era known as the Dust Bowl.
Which state has the highest heat record? ›
It is no surprise that the hottest temperatures in the U.S. have been recorded in the Desert Southwest. In fact, the highest temperature recorded in California, 134 degrees, is also the current hottest air temperature on record on Earth and was measured in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913.
What US state has the most extreme temperatures? ›
California. Death Valley's Greenland Ranch holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded at 134 degrees in 1913. But On Jan. 20, 1937, Boca—a former reservoir located in Nevada County—recorded a mind-numbingly cold temperature of -45 degrees.
What state gets the most hot? ›
1. Florida. Florida's hot climate can make for a punishing summer. While other states are sunnier than the Sunshine State, Florida has warmer average annual temperatures.
The current heat “is much more expected than the shattering of records by 0.3 degrees to 0.5 degrees we saw in the latter half of 2023,” Hausfather told CNN. Hausfather estimates a 66% chance that 2024 will be the hottest year on record, and a 99% chance it will be the second hottest.
Is summer of 2024 going to be hot? ›
For its 2024 summer outlook, the almanac states that California will see hot and dry conditions. The almanac forecasts that it will likely be “warm, hot, and muggy” for most of the country. In the Northwest region, as “more seasonable summer temperatures are expected,” it said.
Is it really the hottest summer on record? ›
In what they call an "alarming finding," scientists say that in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer of 2023 was the hottest in 2,000 years. Global data already showed that last summer was the hottest on record.
Will we have a heatwave in 2024? ›
"If we look at the forecast for the next three months in the long range, it's suggesting that the trend that we're seeing in baseline warming could continue, and so 2024 could rival 2023 for being the hottest year on record, which is very scary," says Chloe Brimicombe, a heatwave researcher at the University of Graz.
What was the worst heat wave in history? ›
List of the 10 worst heat waves in the world:
- European heat wave - 2003 - Number of victims: 70,000 people.
- Russian heat wave - 2010 - Number of victims: 56,000 people.
- North American heat wave - 1988 - Number of victims: 10,000 people.
- American heat wave - 1980 - Number of victims: 10,000 people.
Mali is the hottest country in the world, with an average yearly temperature of 83.89°F (28.83°C).
Why was July 1936 so hot? ›
Several factors led to the deadly heat of July 1936: A series of droughts affected the U.S. during the early 1930s. The lack of rain parched the earth and killed vegetation, especially across the Plains states.
How long did the 1980 US heat wave last? ›
In Kansas City, Missouri, the high temperature was below 90 °F (32 °C) only twice and soared above the century mark (100 °F or 38 °C) for 17 days straight; in Memphis, Tennessee, the temperature reached an all-time high of 108 °F (42 °C) on July 13, 1980, part of a 15-day stretch of temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) ...
What was the deadliest heat wave in the world? ›
In 2010, the climate in the northern hemisphere summer was dominated by a series of freak heat waves that proved the most devastating in Russia, where up to 56,000 people died as a result of overheating, droughts, forest fires and smog.
Was July 4 the hottest day in history? ›
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), July 3, 4 and 5 all consecutively broke records as the Earth's hottest day since scientists began recording in 1979. On Tuesday, July 4, scientists recorded a global average of 62.9 degrees.
