(RepublicanInformer.com)- As temperatures climb into the 90s and 100s on Thursday, the dreadful heat wave that has engulfed most of the central and southern sections of the country will continue. More than 65 million people are in danger of heat-related ailments as a result of the rising temperatures.
The National Weather Service has issued Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories throughout the week. They have now expanded their coverage to encompass sections of the southern mid-Atlantic.
It is anticipated that high temperatures will be in the lower 100s throughout the majority of the central and southern Plains and eastward into the middle of the South and Tennessee Valley.
Temperatures in the mid-to-upper-90s are forecasted for other regions, including the Ohio Valley, the middle Atlantic region, and the Southeast.
The oppressive humidity levels that are expected to prevail throughout the region will only serve to make the already unbearably high temperatures worse.
As the apparent temperature climbs to between 110 and 115 degrees, the National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Warning stretching from Kansas City in the state of Missouri, east through St. Louis and Louisville in Kentucky, and south to Memphis in the state of Tennessee.
In addition, the National Weather Service has issued widespread Heat Advisories for the region until Friday, predicting that the temperature will feel like it is between 105 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
To make matters even worse, it will stay relatively warm throughout the night, so there won’t be much of a break from the suffocating heat throughout the day.
There is a possibility that certain regions could tie or break records for the warmest low temperatures on Friday.
On Thursday, there is a chance that record-high temperatures may be tied or broken. If not, they will at least be tied.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, will come dangerously near breaking its all-time high temperature of 104 degrees, established in 2011. In addition, Memphis is forecast to break its previous high-temperature record of 101 degrees during the afternoon, when the city is predicted to hit about 103 degrees.
The most recent forecast for the next six to ten days from the Climate Prediction Center at NOAA shows that the highest likelihood of above-average temperatures could shift toward the western United States next week. This would provide relief for the states in the center and the southeast currently experiencing extreme heat.
