© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A view of a sign board warning of extreme heat in Death Valley, California, US, July 15, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge Garcia/File Photo
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Written by Brad Brooks
(Reuters) – Already soaked New England braced for more downpours, with four people killed by flooding, and the National Weather Service warning of extreme temperatures for nearly a quarter of the US population.
The NWS said parts of New England and mid-Atlantic regions will be hit by storms “capable of producing heavy rain” ahead of a cold front approaching from the west. Areas at risk include major cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
“As some parts of the Northeast have saturated and sensitive soils from recent heavy rainfall over the past 10 days, this is a set-up set to produce flash floods that could be significant in the affected areas,” the NWS said in a Sunday morning forecast.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday urged residents in her state to avoid traveling until the rain has passed, saying that “your car can go from a safe place to a place to die” if it gets swept away by flash floods.
The NWS said the Northeast could encounter impassable roads, tornadoes and even mudslides in some areas with higher terrain.
At least four people were swept away by flooding Saturday in the Pennsylvania town of Upper Macfield, about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia, local police said in a written statement. Sunday, rescue workers said they were looking for three more people, including a nine-month-old boy, his two-year-old sister and an adult woman.
Flooding has inundated the Northeast in recent days, with the state of Vermont in particular reporting catastrophic flooding in its capital, Montpelier, which came under a flash flood warning again on Sunday.
Outside the Northeast, the NWS predicted heavy rain over some stretches of the Central Plains and the central Mississippi Valley, along with eastern Texas, some parts of Arkansas and Louisiana and parts of the Gulf Coast.
Heat warnings for a quarter of Americans
Heat warnings spread from the Pacific Northwest, all the way to California, through the Southwest and into the Deep South and Florida.
Temperatures over 115 F (46 C) are expected in the high desert regions of Southern California, along with Arizona and Nevada. The NWS said record high temperatures are likely to be recorded widely across the southwest, in the western Gulf Coast as well as in southern Florida.
Expected temperatures are between 100 and 110 F for parts of the Pacific Northwest. This can be especially dangerous for a region unaccustomed to excessive heat, as many homes do not have central air conditioning, according to data from the US Census Bureau.
The NWS said extreme temperatures in the United States, with warnings for more than 80 million people, are caused by a mass of high-pressure air sitting like a dome over affected areas, preventing any rainstorms from moving in to provide cooler weather.
Little respite from the heat is in sight.
“The combination of high temperatures and oppressively high dew points will result in sweltering heat throughout
NWS wrote south next week.
Climate change caused by fossil fuels portends more extreme weather like that seen in the United States in recent days, scientists say, warning that the world needs to drastically reduce carbon emissions to prevent its catastrophic effects.
Extremely high temperatures were gripping many European countries as well.
