Heat Wave 2011: High Temperatures Bake Central U.S., May Expand Eastward

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A heat wave with oppressive temperatures and stifling humidity lingered and intensified in the midsection of the country on Monday and was expected to expand eastward as the week continued.

On Tuesday parts of 18 states stretching from North Dakota south to Texas and east to Ohio were under a heat advisory, warning or watch, according to the National Weather Service.

When the humidity is factored into the mix, it will feel like 110 degrees in some parts of the nation.

"This is unusual," said Pat Slattery, spokesman for the weather service. "There's no sugar coating anything here."

Temperatures in places such as Dodge City, Kansas, and Woodward, Oklahoma, were forecast to be above 100 degrees through Saturday. Wichita, Kansas, will see temperatures higher than 100 degrees through Sunday.

This heat wave is particularly dangerous because many of the areas under its umbrella are not used to prolonged high temperatures and humidity, according to the weather service. Plus the overnight temperatures are not expected to dip low enough to provide any reprieve.

"The cumulative effects, when it doesn't cool down overnight, you get no relief," Slattery said.

According to the weather service outlook, the central United States from North Dakota to Texas and east to the Carolinas, excluding parts of the Northeast and Southern Florida, will see excessive heat through July 29.

(Reporting by Karin Matz; Editing by Jerry Norton)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Alex9002]

02:03 PM on 08/09/2011

Hi. My name is Alex and I live in the same belt receiving intense heat wave these days. We faced the same sort of situation last year and decided to deal with this issue in future. I had windows tint kits (DIY) installed at my home from SnapTint service. It really helps. It stopped more than 80% of heat and kept the interior environment cool. Moreover, A/C system is giving its 100% efficiency. I am greatly pleased and planning to get it for my car too. Thanks SnapTint!

[jm26dream]

07:02 PM on 07/20/2011

There is no global warming; it's all a hoax, the highest temperature anywhere in the country this week only reached 75 degrees but the press wants us all to panic to keep our minds off of how the republicans are ruining the economy

[ILoveFiction]

09:15 PM on 07/20/2011

Hah!

I suspected as much.

[karaross1976]

10:56 AM on 07/20/2011

I can't believe we are having this crazy heat in Wisconsin. When you walk outside, it takes your breath away. We've had tons of these days so far this summer. Craziness. People usually come north to get away from the heat everywhere else. This is making me actually appreciate the cold we have here for most of the year. Aint global warming grand?

[Bill Duckworth]

04:05 PM on 07/19/2011

-ChiefSeattle

One thing we know which the white man may one day discover~ our God is also your God. They are the same God. You may think now that you own Him as you wish to own our land. But you cannot. He is the God of man; and his compassion is equal for the Red man and the white. This Earth is precious to Him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator. The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other Tribes. Continue to contaminate your bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.

But in your perishing you will shine brightly, fired by the strength of the god who brought you to this land and for some special purpose gave you dominion over this land and over the red man. Your destiny is a mystery to us for we do not understand what will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered! The wild horses are tamed! What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and the hunt? Where are our Young men! Gone! This is the end of living and the beginning of survival. So we will consider your offer to buy the land.

[lawFROMNEWYORK]

03:25 PM on 07/19/2011

I truly hope you all in the middle of the country make it. It's only low 90's here in New York City and I can't find my hair; so hot I chopped it all off.

[aearthling59]

02:52 PM on 07/19/2011

According to today's temperature map of the USA the coldest place is 57 degrees.

[HowthCastle]

10:32 AM on 07/20/2011

That's why it's called GLOBAL warming; it's about the world as a whole, not about little individual places.

[deminmo]

10:58 AM on 07/19/2011

Here in my area of Missouri it's going to be 100 degrees with a
heat index of 110. I don't mind heat but when you walk outside in
this it takes about 2 minutes to feel it.

[Eileenla]

09:16 AM on 07/19/2011

Overheard at lunch today from the mouth of a diehard Republican: "I think something's happening with the weather! Not that I believe in global warming..."

[Guy124]

11:56 AM on 07/19/2011

God forbid he might believe in science.

[jm26dream]

07:42 PM on 07/19/2011

Wasn't there an article that scientifically DISPROVED global warming?

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2009/08/scientific-evidence-now-points-global-cooling-contrary-un-alarmism

[aearthling59]

02:52 PM on 07/19/2011

....in the winter its called global cooling, who knew.

[Auld]

04:27 AM on 07/20/2011

greenhouse gases accelerate global warming

particulates result in global cooling.

You need to separate weather from climate. Once you understand a few basic scientific principles, you will be able to understand the issue.

[Eileenla]

12:34 PM on 07/20/2011

Actually, in the winter its called greater precipitation in the form of snow in the winter climes due to higher atmospheric condensation (based on significantly higher temps) in the summer climes. It isn't winter all over the planet at the same time, you know. Or do you?

[CHMB]

09:12 AM on 07/19/2011

It's also just as hot in Canada. The temperature in the city I'm in is set to be 38 Celcius, so 100 F, that's without the humidity. With the humidity, it's going to be 48 Celcius, or 118 F. This hot weather is stretching from Alberta to the Maritimes.

[fumes]

08:41 AM on 07/19/2011

same old same old..

at the british er i mean The Open again this year!

rainy and cold for 140 years and counting..

[RichieB]

06:48 PM on 07/19/2011

Still don't get the Weather Channel? Take a look at what's happening in AZ, TX, OK and the Central US. No global cooling there.

[gallon]

10:42 PM on 07/19/2011

That's just fumes. You know, there is no global warming. Fumes can't even see it.

[midwestkel]

03:19 AM on 07/19/2011

Can we blame Obama for this?

[goingstrong]

05:59 AM on 07/19/2011

why not, he is being blamed for everything else

[midwestkel]

02:33 PM on 07/20/2011

That's true...

[kjbarfarms]

02:46 AM on 07/19/2011

Having grown up in the south, this summer is no different than any other summer I can recall. Its always hot and humid. As a kid, we werent allowed to stay inside and watch television and we didnt have the wii, or gameboy or the likes of. We found a good swimming spot and a grape vine and cooled off. We had no a/c and used fans day and night and back then left the windows open. Its all in what you become use to and how you grew up.

[BlackbirdHighway]

08:00 AM on 07/19/2011

Go down to Texas and tell the farmers that all this is just a normal regular summer.

In fact, the state is experiencing the most severe drought in its history.

[MexiChick67]

07:52 PM on 07/19/2011

How about all of the floods in the South due to the rain?

[kjbarfarms]

09:02 PM on 07/19/2011

I was talking about the tempertures are no different. Its always hot and humid... that was what the article was about was the HEAT WAVE.

[Auld]

04:31 AM on 07/20/2011

La Nina

[wro2996725]

01:59 AM on 07/19/2011

It is a toasty high of 68 here in San Francisco all week. As for the rest of you....it is mid-July!!

[CHMB]

09:13 AM on 07/19/2011

I'm jealous! It's going to be 48 celcius with the humidity, here. That's 118F!

[Guy124]

11:59 AM on 07/19/2011

the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in sf...but seriously, it's freezing there almost the entire year. la, hollaaaaa

[fairandbalanced100]

01:31 AM on 07/19/2011

This helps prove that global warming is very real & serious problem.

[unclecrackre]

02:15 AM on 07/19/2011

All this proves is that it's summer time, lol. All you global warming the sky is falling types are being duped. There is no global warming. The planet has gone through cycles of hot and cold it's entire existence. It will continue to do so, it's completely natural. There have been periods of severe drought and extreme cold in this planets history. Do your research and stop panicking. Nothing to see here, move along now.

[slister45]

06:22 AM on 07/19/2011

You'll enjoy this, if you haven't already seen it...http://youtu.be/eScDfYzMEEw. It's George Carlin on "Saving The Planet"...priceless!!!!

[CHMB]

09:14 AM on 07/19/2011

Will you say the same thing when Polar Bears go extinct? Or perhaps when Kamloops is by the ocean?

[goingstrong]

06:04 AM on 07/19/2011

900 heat records broken in July alone...but even that wont convince climate skeptics, in fact nothing will. All we can hope for is the people who see the truth for what it is, making changes themselves and raising/teaching generations of children behind them to start acting responsibly

[wbillymacd]

01:27 AM on 07/19/2011

I live in upstate New York and go to one of the most beutiful and clean lakes in the country...Lake George.Its called the queen of American lakes...very deep..close to or over 2oo ft in places...i believe about 32 miles long.....when i was a kid...im in my 40s now....you couldnt stay in the water for longer then 10 minutes or you would go numb and that was in July!...you could watch your feet turn blue literally....I was there the other day at the beach it was almost bath water....nature doesnt lie....only people do.