The National Weather Service warned Thursday that an “extremely dangerous” heat wave will break daily temperature records in western and southern states over the holiday weekend.
The heatwaves came as raging wildfires in Northern California forced the evacuation of 28,000 people. The Thompson Fire in Oroville, about 65 miles north of Sacramento, has grown to 3,568 acres and was only 7 percent contained as of Wednesday night.
Death Valley, California, recorded 122 degrees Fahrenheit. California’s most populated areas were as hot as 99 degrees Fahrenheit in Sacramento and 108 degrees in Bakersfield Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco were relatively balmy at 81 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.
Heatstroke watches and warnings were issued across the southern U.S. on Thursday. The temperature in Birmingham, Alabama, was 94 degrees, but the heat index, which takes into account humidity, was 102 degrees around 5 p.m.
Atlanta recorded 93 degrees, Shreveport, Louisiana recorded 97 degrees, and Tulsa, Oklahoma recorded 98 degrees, making the heat index feel like 100 degrees everywhere. The small city of Greenwood, Mississippi recorded 97 degrees, but it felt like 114 degrees.
In total, more than 100 million people spent Thursday under extreme heat warnings.
In the West, temperatures are only rising and the dangers are only increasing.
The National Weather Service predicts temperatures in inland California will reach 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday and Saturday. Parts of the desert Southwest could reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Afternoon temperatures could reach the upper 90s to low 100s Fahrenheit in parts of the Northwest and Great Basin, the weather service said.
The weather service said heat in the Mojave Desert, Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley “could be dangerous for anyone unless proper heat protection measures are taken.”
Temperatures in Las Vegas are expected to reach 117 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday and 118 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, both of which would surpass the city’s previous record of 116 degrees.
The weather service advised people to stay hydrated, avoid direct sunlight and stay in air-conditioned buildings if possible.
Records have already been broken: Temperatures reached 110 degrees in Livermore, on the eastern edge of California’s Bay Area, and 100 degrees in San Rafael, Marin County, California.
Parts of Arizona, Nevada and Texas experienced their hottest June on record.
