Millions of people will have to brace themselves for an exceptionally hot July Fourth week as most of the U.S. prepares for a heat wave — all as deadly wildfires continue to burn in the West.
Around 162 million people are under heat alerts from the Great Plains to the Northeast, spanning 35 states. The heat is expected to ramp up through the week, with temperatures soaring into the upper 90s and 100s. Heat index values — or what the heat actually feels like to the human body — could reach 105 to 115 degrees.
Cities in the risk zone include Boston; New York; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Washington; Chicago; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta; Orlando, Florida; and Cleveland.
The temperature in Chicago was 92 degrees Monday afternoon but felt like 102, according to the National Weather Service — and peak heat indexes were forecast between 100 and 110 degrees through Wednesday. In Dayton, Ohio, it felt like 100 degrees, the service said.
The dangerously hot conditions will linger over the central U.S. this week, expanding into the Northeast starting Wednesday and lasting into the holiday weekend.
Major to extreme heat risk is expected Tuesday, with warm overnight temperatures offering little relief and increasing the risk of heat-related illness.
The heat will peak Thursday through Saturday for the Midwest, the Great Lakes, the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. By July Fourth, close to 100 daily record highs will have been set.
New York City is expected to record temperatures as high as 95 Friday, with a heat index of 106. Washington and Raleigh, North Carolina, will have highs of 103 later this week, with heat indexes of 108 and 107, respectively.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson warned residents Monday to prepare for extreme heat that “can be very dangerous.” The city is under an extreme heat warning until Wednesday, Mike Bardou, a warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said at the briefing.
“If you can, stay inside with air conditioning on,” Johnson said. “If you do not have air conditioning, keep your blinds closed but windows slightly open.”
Johnson also said the Department of Family & Support Services will open six community cooling centers around the city. He encouraged Chicagoans to stay hydrated and check on their more vulnerable neighbors.
Bardou, who spoke about a 1995 heat wave that killed hundreds in Chicago, warned that heat-related illnesses can take victims by surprise.
“Heat is kind of one of those sneaky things, in a sense. Relative to a thunderstorm coming or blizzard, you don’t necessarily realize the effects until it’s too late,” he said. “And the effects of heat are cumulative, so day by day that goes by that you don’t have that ability to recover, cool off, the effects are worsening.”
Western wildfires
Over the weekend, numerous new wildfires erupted across the interior West, especially across Utah and Colorado.
Around 2 million people were under fire alerts Monday across the Four Corners states — Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah — as well as parts of Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Three firefighters were killed tackling fires on the Colorado-Utah border over the weekend. The U.S. Forest Service identified them as Sydney Watson, 27; Nick Hutcherson, 27; and Emily Barker, 38.
“Our thoughts are with their families, loved ones, friends and crewmates as they face an unimaginable loss,” U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said in a statement. “These firefighters embodied the courage, professionalism and selflessness that define the wildland fire service.”
Two more firefighters were injured and were receiving medical care, the Forest Service said.
The largest of the fires, the Cottonwood Fire in southwest Utah, was more than 93,000 acres and remained 0% contained, according to WatchDuty.com, which has been tracking the blaze.
More than 50 large fires are burning across the country, covering over 460,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Air quality alerts are also in effect for much of Colorado because of the wildfire smoke.
There is an elevated risk of wildfires across the region and the Southwest, with the risk Tuesday increasing to critical once again for parts of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.
