Historic heat wave expands into central US after weeks of record heat in the Southwest
Temperatures have soared as the week has progressed, and Wednesday and Thursday are poised to be record-breaking days across the Midwest and Southeast.
Historic heat wave continues to shatter records as it moves east
Temperatures across the Midwest and Southwest are unseasonably warm, as a heat dome continues to break records for the third straight week. This week, temps are easing up a little in the Southwest, but climbing in the Midwest and Southeast.
The Plains and Southeast are getting a taste of summer as the heat wave that has created stifling temperatures in the Southwest continues to push east.
Since early March, a historic heat dome has shattered temperature records across the Southwest, bringing temperatures 30 to 40° above average from California to Colorado.
(FOX Weather)
More than 1,800 heat records have been broken since March 11.
Yuma, Arizona saw the hottest March temperature ever recorded in the United States at 109° on Friday.
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(FOX Weather)
Into the weekend, temperatures crept up in the Midwest and Plains.
Cities in Colorado, Iowa and Kansas recorded new all-time record highs for March.
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On Sunday, St. Louis recorded a high of 90°. This marks the first time on record that there was a high of at least 90° and a low of 15° in the same March, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
A pedestrian uses an umbrella while walking past City Hall in Los Angeles amid an ongoing heatwave on August 29, 2017
(FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP / Getty Images)
In an impressive display of extremes, cities like Omaha, Nebraska, and Wichita climbed into the mid-90s, which are levels that are far more typical of late June or July than March.
Omaha recorded a 96° temperature on Saturday, breaking a record of 91° set in 2012.
Meanwhile, Wichita, Kansas, saw 93° on Saturday, shattering the previous record of 92° set exactly 110 years prior, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
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(FOX Weather)
Temperatures have soared as the week has progressed, and Wednesday and Thursday are poised to be record-breaking days across the Midwest and Southeast.
Warm air is being funneled toward the Tennessee Valley and the Carolinas, where dozens of daily records could fall through Thursday. Some of this warmth may even reach as far north as the Mid-Atlantic before the next cold front, the FOX Forecast Center said.
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On Friday, temperatures return to normal in the central states, while the Southeast sees higher temperatures.
(FOX Weather)
By Saturday, the heat will ease up across the east.
The heat wave will continue to dig its claws into the Southwest through the weekend.
By Monday, the Southwest should get a much-needed break from the extreme temperatures.