Heat ‘dome’ covers 1 million square miles
Some 141 million Americans over nearly 1 million square miles were under a heat alert on Wednesday, the result of a heat “dome” that’s only slowly moving away from the central U.S. — and into the East Coast.
“This heat is dangerous on many levels,” NWS Director Jack Hayes said in a statement. “Temperatures and humidity levels are high, the heat will be prolonged, and very warm temperatures overnight won’t provide any respite. All of these factors make this an unhealthy situation, especially those in the upper Midwest who are not accustomed to such heat.”
Hospitals in Wichita, Kan., treated 25 heat-related illnesses, according to the Weather Service report. In Des Moines, Iowa, 16 people were hospitalized because of the heat.