Temperature is expected to rise to triple digits, setting records and posing Fire Risks in the US
While some eastern states will witness severe weather later this week, early summer heat continued to bake portions of California and the West today as temperatures threatened to reach three digits or more, setting new records and establishing dangerous fire weather conditions. This is a summer-like heat wave: a heat dome that ramps thermometers up 20 degrees or more above the average for the time of year.
Seven million people in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona live in regions where the National Weather Service has published the highest possible heat warning. These warnings are issued when severe, outright hazardous heat is expected across a large area.
Extreme heat is the outcome of a heat island, a dome of high pressure that holds in warm air and intensifies sunbaked heat for several days or weeks. The longer the phenomenon stays, the more complex and unmanageable it becomes.
The excessive heat started impacting some parts of California today and then spread to more regions of the southwestern part of the country today and the North Pacific later in the week. Even though significant coastal cities won’t be a victim of extreme heat weather this week, Los Angeles will be significantly hot, being 5 to 10 degrees centigrade above normal.
In the valley area of California, the heat will rise to nearly 100 degrees on Tuesday. Sacramento is predicted to touch triple-digit temperatures for the first time this year, which usually happens in early June but was delayed until the end of June last year. The central valley, still in triple digits, will experience soaring heat the rest of the week, while the southern California desert areas also turned hot.
Death Valley, the hottest place on earth, is expected to reach 120 degrees by Thursday, a temperature usually recorded in mid-to-late June. More heat is on the way for the Southwest, with near-record triple-digit heat set to cook parts of southern Arizona and Nevada by mid-week.
Phoenix is expected to hit 110 degrees for the first time this year by Thursday; this usually occurs in mid-June. Las Vegas will see temperatures rise to the low 110s, while this historically should be more than three weeks away. Around the country, including Phoenix, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Reno, and Fresno, records for daily high temperatures could be beaten this week.
As the heat went on and fanned north and east, record-high temperatures may ensue in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Colorado come Friday.
High temperatures, along with low humidity, mean that fuels such as grasses and brush are likely to dry out, spiking the wildfire danger. This peril will be worsened by breezy winds, especially those of California; the winds ignite the fires and spread them.
September 2009 saw the Corral Fire start the weekend south of Tracy and burn through more than 14,000 acres in the San Joaquin County of California. First caused by winds and low humidity, the fire led to the issuing of the evacuation order on the weekend. Finally, the wind subsided, and the firefighters managed to get some control of the fire. By Tuesday morning, it was reported that the fire was 90% contained. The evacuation slogans were withdrawn on Monday night; however, people are still advised to stay cautious.
Two firefighters from Alameda County were slightly to moderately injured during the incident and taken to a hospital. The cause of the fire is not well understood, so that has yet to be determined.
Scattered showers on Tuesday, with gusts up to 30 mph, may also impede the prevention and suppression of the fire. NYC and the vicinity will be hot through the week, with heat index values near or above 95 from Tuesday to Sunday; an excessive heat warning has been issued for the area through Thursday.
Looking at the West preparing for this early summer heatwave, one begins to realise how dangerous the combination of high temperatures and increased fire risks is.
