A large swath of the United States will be inundated by a heat wave this week, spanning from the West to New England, according to federal forecasters.
“A strong upper-level high [pressure system] is forecast to build eastward across the northern tier states toward New England over the next couple of days,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a bulletin on July 13. “The anomalous heatwave underneath this high resulted in all-time record high temperatures across portions of the Great Basin to the northern High Plains on Sunday.”
The NWS stated that as the system moves toward the east, “triple-digit high temperatures will be widespread across the northern Plains,” while the temperature will soar above 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the upper Midwest on July 13 before the system reaches the Great Lakes and the Northeastern United States on July 14. It warned that “increasing humidity” will also accompany the high temperatures.
Extreme heat warnings are in effect for areas in Nevada, Utah, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan on July 13. Other heat-related advisories have been issued for much of the northern continental United States, excluding Alaska, according to an NWS map.
“If you will be situated within any of these areas forecast to experience extreme heat, stay hydrated, take frequent breaks and limit outdoor activities if possible,” the NWS said in a bulletin. “A cold front will draw slightly cooler air eastward from the Pacific Northwest into Montana and North Dakota over the next couple of days dropping high temperatures into the 90s.”
The NWS said that the heat wave “brought all time record high temperatures to the West on Sunday, including states such as Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana,” noting record temperatures of 111 degrees Fahrenheit in Billings, Montana, and 109 degrees in Salt Lake City.
A tracker that monitors the number of Americans under some kind of heat-related advisory or alert said that more than 64 million were under an advisory as of the afternoon of July 13.
The forecast came more than a week after much of the East Coast was hit by a heat wave that brought triple-digit temperatures to a number of major U.S. cities during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
During the heatwave, U.S. electricity generation hit a record high as much of the country increased air-conditioning usage, according to data from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). Power output reached 100,996 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the week ended July 4, surpassing the previous record of 99,445 GWh set in July 2022.
Over the past 52 weeks, electricity generation across the country reached 4.35 million GWh, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier, the group said.
“Meeting surging demand and ensuring the grid can withstand severe weather will require continued investment in America’s energy infrastructure,” Edison Electric Institute CEO Drew Maloney said.
Ahead of the July 4 heatwave, the U.S. Department of Energy issued two emergency orders in a bid to stabilize the power grid for the Mid-Atlantic states, which are served by massive utility company PJM Interconnection.
