Sweltering Heat is Shattering Records, Triggering Power Outages Across Californiahttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1236775An intense multi-day heatwave kicked into high gear Friday, triggering power outages throughout California as the state's power grid became overwhelmed by energy demands.
Rolling blackouts could affect up to 250,000 homes and businesses in the state. Such a power cut has not been implemented since 2001, when there was a massive electric crisis
Across the country, some 150 million people are set to experience temperatures hotter than 90 degrees over the next week, and 50 million of those forecast to experience temperatures over 100 degrees.For the Plains, high temperatures were forecast to be 100 to 107 degrees, and heat index values 105-115 degrees. This heat is forecast to last through Sunday with cooler temperatures expected next week.
For the West, an excessive heat warning is in effect until Wednesday for parts of Arizona, California and Nevada, with high temperatures expected to reach 110-125 degrees.
Needles, California
"The longevity of the heat is more concerning than the record-breaking temperatures," said National Weather Service meteorologist Trevor Boucher.
The monthly heat records are especially notable. Death Valley, California, is forecast to get above 125 degrees Sunday through Tuesday, and if it does, it will be the hottest temperatures on record so late in the season.
If Phoenix reaches 117 that would match the all-time hottest temperature recorded during the month of August.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1294275589487067139... “With COVID-19 and other crises layered on top of each other, an additional extreme weather crisis basically just compounds the stress that people are already feeling,” Gershunov said.
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California Heat Wave May Rival Deadly July 2006 Event, Forecasters Warnhttps://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-14/california-heat-wave-records?_amp=trueValleys in the Los Angeles region can expect highs of 100 to 108 degrees, with lows of 72 to 82. Elevations below 5,000 feet will see highs of 98 to 105 and lows of 65 to 75. High temperatures will be 102 to 112 in the Antelope Valley, with lows from 70 to 80. Coastal areas can look for highs of 82 to 92 and lows of 65 to 70.
The excessive heat is the result of a large, strong high-pressure system centered over Arizona, which is keeping the Southwestern U.S. hot almost everywhere except within a few miles of the coast.
High pressure over southwestern California on Tuesday will reach a strength that occurs only about once every 10 years, said Eric Boldt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. This dome of high-pressure air blocks storm systems and creates the building heat over the Southwest.
It was during the deadly 2006 heat wave that Los Angeles County recorded its all-time highest temperature: 119 degrees in Woodland Hills on July 22.
The Times reported that coroners in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Kern counties connected about 130 deaths to the heat, with diagnoses including hyperthermia and heatstroke. But state researchers later estimated that the toll in those counties was more likely in the range of 350 to 450