AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures can surge to 120 F in parts of the nation’s midsection as the hottest weather of the summer swelters more than 15 states.
Excessive heat warnings were in place for 16 states stretching from Texas and Louisiana to Minnesota and Wisconsin at the beginning of the week. By early Wednesday morning, that number had increased to 19 states. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures can soar to above 120 degrees Fahrenheit in part of this corridor during the peak heating of the afternoon. This level is considered “dangerous” on AccuWeather’s exclusive RealFeel® temperature guide. On Monday afternoon, several towns in Kansas and Missouri reported RealFeel Temperatures over 130 degrees, with Oskaloosa, Kansas, topping out at 138 degrees,
With such a widespread area facing extreme temperatures, energy demand is going to be very stressed, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert.
Hundreds of records in jeopardy amid the heat wave
AccuWeather meteorologists say temperatures will challenge long-standing records on both sides of the clock amid the late-summer swelter.
The heat ramped up over the weekend across the South Central states, with Wichita, Kansas, hitting an eye-popping 111 on Saturday afternoon, falling just 3 degrees short of their all-time August record of 114. Triple-digit readings will persist across this part of the nation’s midsection through the rest of the week, while also expanding northward into the central Plains and Midwest, bringing the highest temperatures of the summer, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
Record high temperatures are expected to be challenged over consecutive days in places such as Minneapolis; Chicago; Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Little Rock, Arkansas; Dallas; and New Orleans; among dozens of other locales. Some of the record highs date back to a period of extreme heat in August of 1936. The Dust Bowl Era of the 1930s was one of the hottest decades on record in the central U.S.
Historical average high temperatures are beginning a downward trend from their peak midsummer levels by this point in the month. This week, AccuWeather forecasters say that temperatures will consistently be 10-20 degrees above historical averages for late August…Source – Read More!
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