The Dangerous Heat Wave Will Continue to Bake the U.S. This Week

The South is in the middle of a wave of record heat expected to continue through the July 4 holiday. A stubborn heat dome of high pressure over Texas that has kept heat indexes at dangerous levels for several days is forecast to shift slightly to the east this week, bringing continued hot weather to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

“Since we’re hotter than Death Valley right now, is it safe to say that the Concho Valley is the new Death Valley this June? Cause this heat and humidity is sure feeling like death to be honest,” forecasters in San Angelo, Texas, tweeted Sunday during the record-breaking heat. A few days earlier, temperatures hit 119 degrees in the Big Bend area, which was one degree from tying Texas’ record high of 120 in 1936 and 1994, according to the National Weather Service.

Places like Del Rio, Texas, could hit their 10th daily-high-temperature record in a row Tuesday, according to forecasters.

The heat is expected to expand north and east, potentially breaking record daily temperatures in Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Temperatures in some of these locations will push well into the triple digits during the day, and temperatures won’t cool much during the evening.

“The heat will be oppressive,” forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center said Monday.

Heat index levels — what temperatures feel like when combined with humidity — are forecast to reach levels near 120 degrees across the South.

The dangers of this heat are made worse when combined with power outages. In the past week, many places have dealt with severe storms that have knocked out power. With above-average temperatures and no air-conditioning, there is likely to be more stress on the body. Monday afternoon, there were more than 250,000 customers without service across Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and Georgia, according to PowerOutage.us.

Some hints in the computer forecast weather models indicate that parts of Texas may return to normal highs over the coming weekend.