Extreme heat grips the Midwest, before moving to the Northeast.
Chicago is at the heart of an excessive heat alert that extends north to Madison, Wisconsin, and south to Springfield Illinois.
On Tuesday, the heat index (what it feels like when there is humidity) in Chicago soared up to a scorching temperature of 115 degrees. Chicago’s temperature reached 99 degrees on Tuesday, beating the previous daily record of 97.
Due to the heat, Detroit public school students were let out three hours earlier on Tuesday.
The dangerous temperatures will then move to the east.
On Wednesday, heat indexes are expected to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Nashville, Tennessee, 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Indianapolis, 105 degrees Fahrenheit in Philadelphia, and 103 degrees Fahrenheit in Washington, D.C.
D.C. could set a new temperature record of 100 degrees.
By Thursday, temperatures in the Northeast will begin to cool. Temperatures will remain in the 90s throughout the South by the end of the week.
According to the CDC WONDER online database, there are hundreds of deaths in the U.S. each year due to excessive heat. Scientists caution that the real number of heat-related deaths is likely to be higher.
According to JAMA (a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Medical Association), last year saw the highest number of heat-related deaths on record in the U.S.
