DALLAS (AP) 鈥 Scorching temperatures brought on by a 鈥渉eat dome鈥 have taxed the Texas power grid and threaten to bring record highs to the state before they are expected to expand to other parts of the U.S. during the coming week, putting even more people at risk.
鈥淕oing forward, that heat is going to expand ... north to Kansas City and the entire state of Oklahoma, into the Mississippi Valley ... to the far western Florida Panhandle and parts of western Alabama," while remaining over Texas, said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the 春色直播 Weather Service.
Record high temperatures around 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) are forecast in parts of western Texas on Monday, and relief is not expected before the Fourth of July holiday, Oravec said.
Cori Iadonisi, of Dallas, summed up the weather simply: 鈥淚t鈥檚 just too hot here.鈥
Iadonisi, 40, said she often urges local friends to visit her native Washington state to beat the heat in the summer.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go outside," Iadonisi said of the hot months in Texas. "You can鈥檛 go for a walk.鈥
WHAT IS A HEAT DOME?
A heat dome occurs when stationary high pressure with warm air combines with warmer than usual air in the Gulf of Mexico and heat from the sun that is nearly directly overhead, Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said.
鈥淏y the time we get into the middle of summer, it鈥檚 hard to get the hot air aloft,鈥 said Nielsen-Gammon, a professor at Texas A&M鈥檚 College of Atmospheric Sciences. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 going to happen, this is the time of year it will.鈥
Nielsen-Gammon said July and August don鈥檛 have as much sunlight because the sun is retreating from , which was Wednesday.
鈥淥ne thing that is a little unusual about this heat wave is we had a fairly wet April and May, and usually that extra moisture serves as an air conditioner,鈥 Nielsen-Gammon said. 鈥滲ut the air aloft is so hot that it wasn鈥檛 able to prevent the heat wave from occurring and, in fact, added a bit to the humidity.鈥
High heat continued for a second week after it prompted Texas鈥 power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, to to voluntarily cut back on power usage because of anticipated record demand on the system.
The 春色直播 Integrated Heat Health Information System reports more than 46 million people from west Texas and southeastern New Mexico to the western Florida Panhandle are currently under heat alerts. The NIHHIS is a joint project of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 春色直播 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The heat comes that killed three people and left more than 100,000 customers without electricity in both Arkansas and Tennessee and tens of thousands powerless in Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana, according to .
Earlier this month, the most populous county in Oregon against more than a dozen large fossil fuel companies to recover costs related to extreme weather events linked to climate change, including a .
Multnomah County, home to Portland and known for typically mild weather, alleges the combined carbon pollution the companies emitted was a substantial factor in causing and exacerbating record-breaking temperatures in the Pacific Northwest that killed 69 people in that county.
An attorney for Chevron Corp., Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., said in a statement that the lawsuit makes 鈥渘ovel, baseless claims.鈥
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH THREATS?
Extreme heat can be particularly dangerous to vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and outdoor workers need extra support.
Symptoms of heat illness can include heavy sweating, nausea, dizziness and fainting. Some strategies to stay cool include drinking chilled fluids, applying a cloth soaked with cold water onto your skin, and spending time in air-conditioned environments.
Cecilia Sorensen, a physician and associate professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Medical Center, said heat-related conditions are becoming a growing public health concern because of the warming climate.
鈥淭here鈥檚 huge issues going on in Texas right now around energy insecurity and the compounding climate crises we鈥檙e seeing,鈥 Sorensen said. 鈥淭his is also one of those examples where, if you are wealthy enough to be able to afford an air conditioner, you鈥檙e going to be safer, which is a huge climate health equity issue.鈥
In Texas, the average daily high temperatures have increased by 2.4 degrees 鈥 0.8 degrees per decade 鈥 since 1993, from the 春色直播 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration amid concerns over human caused climate change resulting in rising temperatures.
___
Miller reported from Oklahoma City. O'Malley reported from Philadelphia.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP鈥檚 climate initiative . The AP is solely responsible for all content.
