Dangerous heat in Kansas kills cattle; conditions expected to persist

Dangerous heat is impacting regions across the U.S. this week, with conditions expected to persist. 

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said, as of Tuesday, that it knew of at least 2,000 cattle deaths due to high temperatures and humidity. 

The department’s spokesperson said the toll represents facilities that contacted the agency for help disposing of cattle carcasses.

Temperatures reached 108 degrees in northwest Kansas on Monday and the National Weather Service (NWS) in Wichita and Topeka warned that sweltering heat would extend into next week. 

US HEAT IMPACTS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

“Hot weather returns today with triple-digit heat returning to central and south-central Kansas. Heat indices this afternoon area-wide will approach 105. Lows tonight will be in the low-to-mid 70s,” the agency’s Wichita office tweeted. 

Smoke from wildfires blazing across the Southwest and Saharan dust will create hazy skies over the weekend, as well. 

ODESSA, TEXAS WITHOUT DRINKING WATER AS TEMPERATURES SOAR

This comes as residents of Odessa, Texas, were left without water for days due to a water system outage. 

Utility crews scrambled to restore service on Wednesday to the 165,000 homes and businesses that lost pressure or completely dried up after a 24-inch main broke on Monday afternoon.

Temperatures there approached 100 degrees on Wednesday. 

The NWS Weather Prediction Center is forecasting more above-normal temperatures across much of the U.S. 

Advisories and warnings remain in effect for the Midwest, Mid-South and Southeast, and an Excessive Heat Warning is also in effect for parts of interior southern California and Arizona. 

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.