WASHINGTON: Millions of people in the United States have prepared to sweat through yet another hot day, with the potential for storms later today to bring relief from the sweltering heat for at least some, local media and local officials reported. Floodwaters inundated areas of the Midwest, including a town in Iowa whose own water-level scale was submerged.
From the mid-Atlantic to Maine, across much of the Midwest and across inland California, authorities cautioned locals sweating through the heat and humidity. In Oklahoma, the heat index — what the temperature feels like to the human body — was likely to reach 107 degrees on Sunday.
In northwest Iowa, 13 rivers flooded the entire area, said Eric Tigges of Clay County emergency management. Entire area — and at least one town — were evacuated, and the town of Spencer imposed a curfew today for the second night in a row following flooding that surpassed the record set in 1953. Tigges said when the flood gauge is underwater, it is really high. Gov. Kim Reynolds has declared a disaster for 21 areas in northern Iowa, including Sioux County. In drone video uploaded by the local sheriff, no streets and roads were visible, just treetops and roofs poking above the water.
In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem has declared an emergency following the southeastern part of the state bordering Nebraska received heavy rain. Many highways were closed while Sioux Falls, the state’s major city, had more than 7 inches of rain in three days. Noem said that even though the rain is slowing down, they need to keep vigilant. However, elsewhere, the heat was the main worry.
Bruce Thoren, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oklahoma said that it is more significant for people who are going to be outdoor to stay hydrated due to heat, humidity and low winds, even if you’re in good shape and not really acclimated to it, it could be a danger.
Similarly, the cities of Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Baltimore witnessed record heat on Saturday with more high temperatures on Sunday.
Marvin Boyd, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Burlington, Vermont stated that a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for many areas of northern New York as a storm with wind gusts exceeding 60 mph and the threat of tornadoes heads toward Vermont near Lake Champlain.
