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The heat is on as millions of Americans are under heat advisories across the contiguous 48 states. Meanwhile, thunderstorms will span much of the nation over the next three days, bringing the threat of severe weather and flash flooding.
The Northeast will be the first region experiencing the first official heatwave of 2021, with three consecutive days of 90-degree temperatures. The Southwest has already been experiencing triple-digit temps.
Boston, Washington, D.C., and Caribou, Maine will be hotter than San Antonio on Monday, while New York City will be as warm as Texas.
Records are expected to be broken, with dozens already shattered over the weekend. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, soared above 100 degrees on Saturday, its hottest day in 9 years. Milwaukee set record highs three days in a row. Records are expected to be broken in the Northeast as well.
Forecasters say it will be Thursday or Friday before cooler temperatures arrive.
Be sure to use sunscreen and a dry skin moisturizer when outdoors. For more tips on how to stay cool in hot weather, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website for safety advice and tips.
This week’s high temperatures will also fire up thunderstorms, bringing severe weather and flooding threats.
On Monday, thunderstorms will stretch across most of the US, from the Rockies to the eastern seaboard. Flooding has already occurred in the south-central US.
On Tuesday, thunderstorms will span from the central US to the East Coast, and for the eastern US on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued alerts over potential flooding in parts of the southern Midwest and South. The NWS issued a flash flood watch and flood advisory for portions of eastern Texas, southern and South-Eastern Oklahoma, northwestern Louisiana, throughout most of Arkansas, into southwestern Tennessee and northwestern Mississippi.
The NWS also issued severe thunderstorm warnings with potential severe weather for central and north-central South Dakota and south-central and eastern North Dakota.
Heavy rain brought flooding to Okmulgee County, Oklahoma on Monday, where water levels above the tires stranded cars on some flooded roadways. Forecasters are calling for similar weather conditions on Tuesday.
The storm outlook for Tuesday will be much the same, with thunderstorms spanning from the central US to the east coast. The NWS forecast a severe weather threat over Montana and the Dakotas, while warning of another round of potential flash flooding has been forecast for portions of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
