Record-breaking heatwave threatens 130 million people in US
Al Jazeera
Temperatures could spike beyond 100F in parts of the Pacific Northwest, the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast.
More than 130 million people in the United States are under threat from a long-running heatwave that has already broken records with dangerously high temperatures, forecasters said, adding that scorching heat will be felt from the East Coast to the West Coast.
The heat and humidity could team up to spike temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 degrees Celsius) in parts of the Pacific Northwest, the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, said Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS).
In the Pacific Northwest region, records could be broken in Oregon state in cities including Eugene, Portland and Salem, Asherman said. Dozens of other records throughout the US could fall, he said, causing millions to seek relief from the blanket of heat in cooling centres from Bullhead City, Arizona, to Norfolk, Virginia.
The NWS said on Saturday it was extending the excessive heat warning for much of the southwest into Friday.
Three-digit temperatures are likely, higher by 15F to 30F (8-16C) than average in the west of the US into next week, the NWS said.