More than a third of Americans were still under watches, warnings or alerts for extreme heat as of Thursday, and the worst thing is that for this Friday and the weekend the sweltering conditions are forecast to only increase.
The scorching heat wave that has been battering parts of the southwestern United States, including Arizona, and spreading to California on Thursday, with triple-digit temperatures, has forced residents to seek places with air conditioning or other alternatives to stay cool.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that residents of central and southern California should prepare for what it estimates will be the hottest days of the year.
This extreme heat, which is leaving record temperatures, is the result of “an upper level high pressure ridge over the southwestern US” and that phenomenon will further strengthen over the weekend, the NWS detailed.
This high pressure ‘ridge’ acts like a force field and forms a dome, preventing any storms and diverting the jet streams to the north. In this way, the sinking air is heated and dried, which raises temperatures 5 to 15 degrees above average.
The arrival of El Niño brings more heat
Other ingredients that add to the factors that fuel the current heat wave are climate change and El Niño, the phenomenon that experts believe may make this the warmest year on Earth since records have been kept.
‘El Niño’, which typically occurs every two to seven years and usually lasts for up to 12 months, produces a gradual warming of the Pacific Ocean, which impacts with intense rains in certain regions of the world, as well as severe droughts in others.
The National Weather Service warned that residents of central and southern California should prepare for what it estimates will be the hottest days of the year.
“The combination of human-caused warming and this emerging event is already wreaking havoc in the Northern Hemisphere this summer in the form of unprecedented heat, drought, wildfires and flooding,” said Michael Mann, a climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. quoted by The Guardian newspaper.
Last June was Earth’s hottest on record, exceeding the previous world record by 0.13 degrees Celsius (nearly a quarter of a degree Fahrenheit), while global ocean temperatures have hit record highs for the third consecutive month, as announced by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office (NOAA, for its acronym in English).
Extreme heat wave threatens the hottest weekend of the year
This Friday parts of the southwest of the country will experience record heat, which will continue to expand further in the region on Saturday, when daytime highs of between 105 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit (between 40.5 and 46 °C) are expected from the Great Valley of California to the southwestern desert.
Even in Death Valley the temperature could reach 130°F this Sunday according to forecasts by the National Weather Service.
Parts of the desert region of southern California, southern Nevada, and southern Arizona could even experience daytime highs in excess of 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.8 °C).
But while these are the hardest-hit areas, further east there will also be conditions “oppressively hot and humid, from Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley to Florida,” with average temperatures ranging from 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 to 43.3 °C) with possible highs as high as 115 (46 °C) the NWS forecast.
In addition to these high weekend temperatures for the central and southern US, the NWS also highlighted the fact that early morning and early morning lows will be exceptionally high, providing little relief from the extreme heat in rest hours.
The heat dome currently over the lower California peninsula is expected to consolidate as it moves into New Mexico and Texas over the next week.
How are states preparing for record temperatures?
This Friday the California State Fair is scheduled to start in Sacramento, but given the heat, organizers canceled the horse races due to concerns about the safety of the animals.
Forecasters said the current long-running heat wave is extremely dangerous, especially for the elderly, the homeless and other vulnerable populations. The heat could persist into next week.
On Thursday, Phoenix hit 110 °F (43 °C) for the 14th straight day, heading for a possible new high next week. The longest measured stretch of temperatures over 110 degrees for the city is 18 days, recorded in 1974.
While there are about 200 cooling and hydration centers operating in libraries, community centers, churches, and other public spaces in the greater Phoenix area, most close between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., leaving people with few options to cool off at night, which are still very hot.
David Hondula, heat director for the city of Phoenix, said some of those facilities plan to close later this weekend, including one downtown near a large homeless encampment that will stay open 24 hours.
Hondula suggested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency could play a role in the future to help keep cooling centers open longer. “We would certainly be interested in having that conversation,” she stated.
Meanwhile, in California, cooling centers in and around Sacramento planned to offer some extended nighttime hours. In the small Central Valley town of Galt, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the state capital, the Police Department planned to open its air-conditioned lobby between 2:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. pm from Friday to Monday.
“We want to make sure that anyone who doesn’t have the ability to find adequate shelter, can have a place to go to stay in a safe and cool environment,” said Lt. John Rocha.
The same concourse served as a warming center during California’s unusually wet, cold and snowy winter, demonstrating just how strong a climate impact the state has experienced this year.
Employers have been reminded to adhere to regulations requiring outdoor workers to receive water, shade and regular cool-down breaks. The state will be doing spot checks at workplaces to make sure the rules are being followed, said Jeff Killip of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Meanwhile, the wildfire season is ramping up amid hot and dry conditions with a spate of fires across the state this week, Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, said at a news conference this week.
Global climate change is “supercharging” heat waves, Crowfoot added. California has instituted a $400 million Extreme Heat Action Plan to protect workers, help vulnerable communities, and help local communities open cooling centers.
People looking to cool off in California’s many rivers should be careful, said UCLA climatologist Daniel Swain, noting that waterways swollen by the epic Sierra Nevada snowpack remain dangerous as there is still snow left to melt.
“Keep in mind that the water will still be freezing despite how warm the air will be and it could flow very fast, much faster than usual for mid-July,” he said.