A heat wave sweeping across much of the eastern and central U.S. has killed at least 20 people in the last week, as more dangerously hot conditions are expected to soon hit the West.
Record-high temperatures in dozens of East Coast communities canceled festivities and sent hundreds to emergency rooms over the Fourth of July weekend.
New Jersey reported 19 heat-related deaths since July 2, the most of any state so far. Many of the victims were found in homes without air conditioning, a few were outside of their residence, some were in streets and some were in parked cars, Dr. Raynard E. Washington, the commissioner for the state Department of Health, said during a July 4 news conference.
In Jackson, Mississippi, a 74-year-old man who had been reported missing on June 29 was found behind a gas station on July 2, but died on the way to hospital. Local officials reported to the National Weather Service the man had been exposed to extreme heat over multiple days, with the heat index over 100.
Dozens of people at a July 2 event in Pennsylvania centered around the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy, were transported to local hospitals due to heat illness.
In Washington, DC, where heat indices climbed above 110 degrees during President Donald Trump’s July 4 Salute to America event, emergency service personnel reported 96 patient contacts and 40 patient transports from the National Mall, the National Special Security Event Joint Information Center said in a July 5 statement.
By 10 p.m. ET, before fireworks erupted in the nation’s capital, George Washington University reported 289 patient contacts from the National Mall. It’s unclear how many were related to heat.
The East Coast is expected to soon feel some relief from the extreme temperatures as the heat dome shrinks, bringing chances of severe thunderstorms. Storms in southeastern New England and the mid-Atlantic could cause damaging wind gusts, torrential rain and potential flash flooding July 5, AccuWeather meteorologists said.
States from Texas to Wisconsin are at least at “some” risk for severe thunderstorms through Tuesday, July 7. Meanwhile, a new heat dome building between the Rockies and the West Coast is expected to bring sweltering temperatures to much of the West, according to Accuweather forecasts.
Reporting by Karissa Waddick and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
