The West Coast is about to see some of the year's warmest temperatures, which could continue to be dangerously hot through Labor Day as a massive heat wave sweeps in.
From Southern California to the San Joaquin Valley and into parts of the Northwest, including 20 of the most populated cities up and down the West Coast, more than 55 million people are presently under heat advisories, CNN reported.
The Weather Prediction Center stated that temperatures could surpass "110F in parts of the Southwest, where an excessive heat warning is currently in effect."
Southwest regions will experience the worst conditions due to the region's extreme heat.
The NWS office in Los Angeles stated, "Some records may be broken, but record max temps are very high at this time of the year." The agency added this extended heat wave would be extremely harmful whether or not a record is broken.
Extremely Hot Labor Day
Starting on Wednesday, Southern California will see triple-digit temperatures, leading to hot, dry conditions that will eventually migrate up north.
The National Weather Service predicts that excessive temperatures will prevail through at least Sunday.
According to David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, the heat might exceed records and pose a very high danger of heat sickness.
Sweet predicted: "The immediate coast will be the coolest with temperatures in the upper 70s to mid-80s. There will be an elevated fire danger, but no winds."
The weather office for the Los Angeles area noted that high pressure will keep temperatures in coastal areas above average and will likely set up a long and "likely dangerous heat event."
Temperatures in the Sacramento Valley on Monday and Sunday might reach 112 degrees as the heat wave spreads into Northern California over the weekend, according to USA Today.
A severe drought has affected a large portion of the Western United States for several years.
The Colorado River's main supply of water, Lake Mead, the biggest man-made reservoir in the nation, is now just around 25% full. Despite the lake's declining water levels, at least five sets of human remains have been discovered there.
US Struggles Against Rising Temperatures
According to nonprofit organization the First Street Foundation, by the middle of the next century, about one-third of American adults would reside in hotter than safe zones.
As cities currently struggle with the consequences of the heat island effect, they estimate that this "heat belt" will extend from the Gulf Coast to Chicago.
Weather Channel meteorologist Kelly Cass explained the notable increase in the heat of cities like Los Angeles and New York, which can be roughly 20ºF warmer than surrounding suburban or rural areas, is due to "urbanization" where "there is less vegetation and more concrete and pavement that leads to more absorption of heat."
Cass said, per CBS News, this holds for "both daytime highs and midnight lows." Even a few degrees of change in temperature under this type of protracted heat in the city is detrimental to our health.
"It's important to seek out cooling shelters, or perhaps the mall or library, to take breaks from the heat. And also to check on our neighbors and keep pets inside," she advised.
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