There's a mass of high pressure air sitting like a dome 'parked' over the affected area and deflecting any rain and storm systems that could provide relief to the 100 million people under heat warnings and cautions, said Taylor. from Oregon, down the West Coast, into the Southwest including Texas and on to Alabama is unusual said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. The heat wave spreading across a swath of the U.S. Heat can affect health, leading to exhaustion, dizziness, thirst or the more serious heatstroke, when the body's core temperature goes above 105 degrees F (40 degrees C). 'We usually take cover around 118 or 119. 'People outside of Phoenix see 113 or 114 and gasp,' Waltz said. They are simply accustomed to dealing with it.īut the long-term warming trend - with nights that don't cool down and asphalt and concrete that retain heat and themselves can help push up temperatures - is worrisome. Outdoor kids' sports have mostly already wrapped up due to the punishing summers, ending around June and starting up again in September, Waltz said.ĭespite the trend toward more very hot days, Phoenix residents have tended to shrug off the heat, he said. Phoenix Parks and Recreation spokesman Adam Waltz said the temperatures on the unshaded portions of the trails can hit 130 or 140 degrees (54 or 60 C), as the sun beats down and heat rises off the earth. Hiking trails at nearby Piestewa Peak and Camelback Mountain have been closed during the hottest hours of the day. This summer, the city has nearly doubled the number of volunteers handing out water, hats and sunscreen, he said, adding it has plans to offer grants to help people plant more trees to increase shade. Some of the cooling stations are extending their hours into the night, said David Hondula, who directs the city's Office of Heat Response and Mitigation. Emergency service workers and a government office focused on helping the city deal with the heat have distributed bottled water to homeless people and encourage them to seek shelter in several public cooling stations.

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