'Dangerous Heat Wave' to Grip the Southern US This Weekend, Excessive Heat Warnings in Place: NWS

Extreme heat continues to put several areas in Central US, the Eastern Seaboard, and Southern US into a standstill.

The National Weather Service (NWS) called the weather phenomenon as a "dangerous heat wave," paving the way for the issuance of excessive heat warnings in a number of locations, including from Georgia, Florida, and to Texas.

Dangerous Heat Wave

(Photo : Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP via Getty Images)

For several times, the NWS' Weather Prediction Center (WPC) in College Park, Maryland, has considered the ongoing heat wave or heat dome to pose life-threatening and disruptive risks across the US.

In its short-range forecast on Thursday, June 23, the WPC said heat will continue to persist across the South, while increased temperatures are expected in most parts of the Great Plains and the Upper Midwest in the coming weekend.

The latest US weather forecast is valid from Friday to Sunday, June 24 to June 26.

During this period, the dome of heat could still affect not only the aforementioned regions, but also its adjacent areas, including the drought-stricken Southwest US, Western US, and even Southeast US.

Also Read: Heat Wave Update: NWS Issues Heat Alerts for Over 60 Million Americans from California to Louisiana

US Heat Wave Casualties

This week, the heat dome has caused scorching temperatures across the Central US.

It has spread since then from the Upper Midwest and even to the Deep South, according to The New York Times.

Existing all-time high temperatures on record in some cities, towns, or areas were surpassed as heat reaches up to or at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The intense heat is part of a so-called "second heat wave" which struck the country for the first time in many weeks.

The first two weeks of the unofficial start of the summer season from June, leading to a series of heat-related deaths and illnesses, affecting both animals and humans.

These incidents have been recorded in multiple regions of the US.

Last week, four people in Georgia and another person in Tennessee have been reported dead, which were believed to be related to heat.

In Kansas, thousands of fat cattle died in the southwest part of the state before mid-June, Local authorities blamed it on heat stress caused by the heat dome.

In Illinois, three women died inside a senior housing facility in the city of Chicago amid sweltering heat in early June.

East Coast Heat Alerts

Over 20 million Americans in 16 states were under heat alerts as of Wednesday, June 22.

In the East Coast, the said temperature record holders had either been tied or surpassed by the latest heat wave.

At least a dozen sites were challenged by the extreme weather, according to CNN.

The NWS reported that the city of Atlanta, Georgia, recorded 98 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the city of Macon in central Georgia incurred a new heat record of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the NWS, as cited by CNN.

In Tennessee, the city of Nashville recorded 100 degree Fahrenheit temperature for the first time in almost a decade, the US media agency adds.