The sweltering heat wave gripping parts of the U.S. has shattered heat records, sparked an air quality health advisory, and is believed to have contributed to at least five deaths.
More than 130 million people across the West, the East Coast, Southeast Texas and South Florida remain under heat alerts Tuesday.
In the New York City metro and Lower Hudson Valley area, an air quality health advisory was issued and officials cautioned people with respiratory issues such as asthma, young children, and the elderly to limit strenuous outdoor physical activity.
The advisory will be in effect from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Tuesday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release.
Excessive heat warnings, watches, and advisories are in effect for nearly all of Oregon, Idaho, Washington state, California, western Arizona and Nevada, the Weather Prediction Center said in an update Tuesday morning.
High heat is expected to continue across Southern California to the Great Basin and across the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies, the agency said.
It’s believed that the excessive heat has led to deaths in Oregon and California. In the Portland area, four men have died since Friday of possible heat-related illnesses, The Oregonian reported.
A 33-year-old man was transported from Multnomah County to a hospital in Portland where he died; an 84-year-old man was found in outer Northeast Portland; and two others, ages 64 and 75, were found in outer Southeast Portland, according to the newspaper.
In Death Valley, California, a motorcyclist died of suspected heat exposure and another was hospitalized for severe heat illness Saturday. Another man, Kevin Gerhardt, of Sacramento, died Sunday due to the heat, NBC affiliate KCRA of Sacramento reported.
The hot weather is expected to break across the Pacific Northwest by Thursday and the West by the weekend. The heat and humidity, however, will remain in place for the East throughout the rest of the week and into the weekend.
The heat wave already broke a record in Las Vegas when temperatures climbed to 120 degrees over the weekend. On Monday, more records were shattered including in Phoenix, Arizona, where it reached 118 degrees. The previous record was 115 degrees in 1985, the National Weather Service in Phoenix said in a post on X.
The agency said dangerously hot temperatures will continue Tuesday with afternoon highs ranging from 111 to 121 degrees.
In Portland, Oregon, it reached 102 degrees Monday, breaking a record of 98 degrees in 1952, according to the National Weather Service said in a Record Event Report. Records were also shattered in Vancouver, Washington, where it reached 101 degrees; Salem and Eugene, Oregon, where temperatures climbed to 105 in both cities; and Hillsboro, Oregon, which saw a high of 102 degrees.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport hit 95 degrees on Monday afternoon, tying a 2010 record, the Seattle Times reported.
Heat records will continue to break over the next few days, according to the Weather Prediction Center, which said high temperatures will be anywhere from 10 to 30 degrees above average.
