Dangerous Maryland heat wave continues through Wednesday
Everyone is advised to take heat precautions seriously, as the temperatures will be dangerous even to healthy individuals.
Baltimore has declared a Code Red extreme heat alert through Thursday, June 26.
Extreme heat and humidity continue across Maryland
The combination of near triple-digit heat and elevated humidity levels has prompted the WJZ First Alert Weather team to issue Alert Days through Wednesday, June 25.
High temperatures are forecast to approach, if not reach, the lower 100s again Tuesday. We'll once again be monitoring as that is near-record heat. The record high at BWI-Marshall Tuesday is 100° and our forecast high of 100° would tie that record set back in 2010. Our normal high temperatures for late June are in the upper 80s.
The Inner-Harbor set a new record high Tuesday of 104° and that's our forecast high again for Tuesday. Elsewhere across the state, high temperatures are forecast to be between 98° and 101°.
The heat index will range from 105° to 110° Tuesday with some isolated locations reaching heat index values of 115°. Not only is this heat sweltering, it's downright dangerous to humans and to pets.
Wednesday will also feature dangerous heat, but high temperatures should fall just shy of 100°. BWI's record high is 99° from 1997 and right now our forecast calls for us to tie that record.
Regardless of whether we see records fall the next couple of days, prepare for more highly uncomfortable levels of heat and humidity statewide.
Isolated strong and drenching thunderstorms are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening, but a much better chance of storms returns Thursday. Feels like temperatures will be between 105° and as high as 115°.
Heat alerts in Maryland
Heat is the number one weather-related cause of death in the United States. Please take the Alert Days seriously, especially if you will be outdoors now through Wednesday evening.
As the extreme heat continues, additional heat alerts will be active across much of Maryland:
The Eastern Shore is under an extreme heat warning through Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Extreme Heat Warnings continue for central Maryland through 9 p.m. Tuesday.. Feels like temperatures could approach 110° for these areas.
An extreme heat watch is in effect for central Maryland at 11 a.m. Wednesday through 9 p.m.. Feels like temperatures could approach 110° for these areas. This extreme heat watch will likely be upgraded to an extreme heat warning sometime today for Wednesday.
Regardless of whether or not your neighborhood is under an alert, the entire area will be extremely hot and humid, even overnight. Low temperatures in the 70s and 80s are warm enough, but with high levels of moisture, we'll wake up already feeling like the mid-80s.
Beating the heat during this Maryland heat wave
Here are a few ways to stay safe and healthy while working outside during extreme heat:
Wear loose-fitting, light colored clothing
Avoid being in the direct rays of the sun
Take frequent breaks if you plan to be outdoors
Drink lots of water, even if you don't feel thirsty. Two liters of water a day is recommended
Remember pets and the elderly in the heat
Make sure ceiling fans are circulating counterclockwise to circulate cooler air downward
In preparation for the unusually hot weather, Baltimore City's Health Department is declaring its first 'Code Red Extreme' Heat Alert. The alert begins Sunday and runs through the middle of the week. A list of cooling centers is available HERE.
Late week storms then brief relief Friday
Thursday should be the last day of this current heat wave. While extreme heat warnings are not likely Thursday, we're still forecasting hot and steamy temperatures. Highs Thursday afternoon will reach the lower 90s with heat index values close to 100°.
A cold front will continue to sag south Thursday afternoon sparking off numerous showers and thunderstorms. A few of these storms could be strong to severe with locally damaging winds. The greater risk from these storms may be localized flash flooding given the high humidity values and slow-moving storm motions. Some neighborhoods could receive locally a quick 1 to 3 inches of rain while other neighborhoods will receive far less from these hit or miss storms.
Friday will be much cooler as the cold front sinks south of us. High temperatures may not even reach 80°. There is the chance of showers Friday, especially during the morning.
Steamy summer weekend across Maryland with more storms
The upcoming weekend will turn hotter and more muggy once again as the cold front that brought relief Friday lifts north as a warm front.
Expect variable clouds with hot and muggy weather Saturday and Sunday. Widely scattered to scattered thunderstorms will develop during the afternoon and evening hours. These storms will be of the hit or miss variety, so not every neighborhood will get wet. Neighborhoods that do receive storms could receive locally heavy rainfall, cloud to ground lightning, and gusty winds.
Highs over the weekend will be steamy. Saturday's highs will climb toward the upper 80s. Sunday's high temperatures will reach 90°, but with high humidity levels, feels like temperatures will top out in the middle to upper 90s.
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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Emergency recordings and videos detail the chaotic rescue efforts during the deadly Texas floods
Here are some of the harrowing moments: 12:30 to 1:15 a.m. CDT In a Slack chat, a National Weather Service forecaster tells emergency managers, meteorologists and news media that the agency is monitoring Kerr County, but so far there has been little rain. Within 40 minutes, two weather cells combine, creating a dramatically more dangerous situation. A flash flood warning goes out at 1:14 a.m. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up With the storm making already spotty cellphone service worse, some people report receiving the first National Weather Service notification on their phones, while others say they never received it. Advertisement 2 to 3 a.m. The water rises quickly at Camp Mystic. A spokesperson for the camp would later say staff began evacuating campers and counselors between 2 and 2:30 a.m. The girls leave their cabins and try to wade to safety. None of the emergency communications between midnight and 6 a.m. reviewed by the AP were about responses to the camp. Advertisement 3:30 to 4 a.m. Kerr County emergency dispatchers request the first water rescue at 3:35 a.m. Emergency calls come in for homes flooding along Highway 39. 'Caller's house flooded,' a dispatcher radios. 'All the residents are on their house.' A later call from Camp La Junta staff reports dozens of boys are in the water after a cabin flooded. Several volunteer fire departments and other law enforcement officers respond to areas around the Guadalupe River after realizing the severity of the situation. Frantic calls would come from people on rooftops and in attic rafters who say they felt the cabins moving under them. Calls would also come from people who scrambled up trees after it was too late to leave by car. 4:16 a.m. A U.S. Geological Survey river gauge about a half mile east of Hunt is already recording almost 24 feet of water – considered major flood stage for the Guadalupe River. As the water rises in a home near the river, Jane Towler captured video on her phone of the muddy water in the kitchen. 'Everything in our yard has floated away,' she told her son and a family friend. 'I want us to be prepared to go up in the attic.' They wound up surviving the night on the roof. Kerr County's 'CodeRed' alert system, which allows the county to send cellphone alerts, would become a point of contention after the flood. Residents and others ask why county officials didn't use the alerts at the height of the emergency. Fire rescuers had asked for a 'CodeRed' alert as early as 4:22 a.m. East of Hunt, the swell of water overtakes an area full of out-of-town campers. 4:35 a.m. A fire rescuer calls out that there are children trapped in the water at the RV parks behind Howdy's restaurant on the western edge of Kerrville. Advertisement 'We're trying to keep people out of the water but they're trying to go in on their own to get those children,' she reports. 'We need some law enforcement down here, now!' Rescuers work to evacuate the RV parks as several of the vehicles are swept away, some with families still inside. Interviews with family members and others would later reveal that more than 40 people staying in the area died. 4:45 a.m. A crew of rescuers from San Antonio arrive to help, but with no command center established, they wait for instructions in a fast food parking lot — less than 2 river miles from the RV park. The rising water overtakes their trucks and strands their boats for hours. Radio traffic shows that an official command center wouldn't be set up until after 6 a.m. Other out-of-town crews rely on word of mouth to determine where and how to help. Many rescuers on the banks can't reach people in the swollen river. 4:59 a.m. A firefighter runs along the river trying to find people he can hear in the water but cannot see. Volunteer firefighters are forced to think on their feet in a scenario many have never experienced before. They move teams to bridges and river crossings, trying to find places they can pull people from the water without boats. 'If you could, see if Kerrville's got a crew that they could set up at Bear Creek off Arcadia and see if they could pick up any of the people that are washing by us,' one asks a dispatcher. Advertisement 5:09 a.m. Screams sound in the distance as waters rise at an RV park along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. Testimony from Kerr County leaders at a legislative hearing at the end of July would confirm that the county's top official was out of town, the sheriff was asleep and the emergency management coordinator was sick in bed when the floods and the emergency response began. 5:32 a.m. Additional rescuers from state task forces and neighboring counties continue to rely on others in the field for direction. 'Sir, we don't have an incident command right now,' a dispatcher tells one crew. 'Received,' the responder says. 'Please advise when you have an assignment for us.' 6 to 6:30 a.m. As daylight breaks, emergency personnel are able to see the catastrophic scope of the flooding from the air, but rescuers keep struggling to find and reach survivors. They scan the water from bridges and crossings. 'I have multiple people in backyards hanging onto trees yelling at us, but we can't see them,' a rescuer tells dispatch. 8:33 a.m. As the morning stretches on, dispatchers start getting calls from people spotting possible survivors. 'We've been contacted by a passerby,' a Kerr County dispatcher tells rescuers. 'There's a person flashing a signal light in the trees in the vicinity of Tranquility Island. I believe they're summoning rescue.' Rescues, including by helicopter, continue into the afternoon. Crews also begin recovering bodies. For many families holding out hope of having their loved ones returned, it would take days or weeks due to the massive amount of debris and the widespread search area along the Guadalupe River. In the following days The death toll would grow to at least 136; three people remain missing. Residents along the Guadalupe River and the families of victims have questioned why they had no notice of the impending flood. The waters rose quickly in the middle of the night, and hard-hit Kerr County lacked an updated flood warning system; state and local agencies had missed opportunities to finance one. Advertisement Local officials told Texas lawmakers who visited the area weeks later that they also need better communications systems and broadband. Questions have also been raised about why top emergency officials weren't involved sooner. Lawmakers say they are intent on learning lessons from the catastrophe. ___ Associated Press reporters Sean Murphy, Seth Borenstein, Nadia Lathan, Christopher L. Keller and Stephen Smith contributed to this report.
a day ago
Emergency recordings and videos detail chaotic rescue efforts during Texas floods
Cries for help came from the pitch-black woods, from rooftops and from attics that shifted unsteadily as the water rose. Firefighters and police raced to help, having little guidance on where or how. Top emergency leaders were asleep or out of town. Using recordings of first responder communications, weather service warnings, survivor videos and official testimony, The Associated Press has assembled a chronology of the chaotic rescue effort as a flash flood barreled east through the Hill Country of Central Texas before dawn on July 4. The flooding killed at least 136 people — including more than two dozen children and counselors at Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp for girls that was among the first areas inundated. Here are some of the harrowing moments: In a Slack chat, a National Weather Service forecaster tells emergency managers, meteorologists and news media that the agency is monitoring Kerr County, but so far there has been little rain. Within 40 minutes, two weather cells combine, creating a dramatically more dangerous situation. A flash flood warning goes out at 1:14 a.m. With the storm making already spotty cellphone service worse, some people report receiving the first National Weather Service notification on their phones, while others say they never received it. The water rises quickly at Camp Mystic. A spokesperson for the camp would later say staff began evacuating campers and counselors between 2 and 2:30 a.m. The girls leave their cabins and try to wade to safety. None of the emergency communications between midnight and 6 a.m. reviewed by the AP were about responses to the camp. Kerr County emergency dispatchers request the first water rescue at 3:35 a.m. Emergency calls come in for homes flooding along Highway 39. 'Caller's house flooded,' a dispatcher radios. 'All the residents are on their house.' A later call from Camp La Junta staff reports dozens of boys are in the water after a cabin flooded. Several volunteer fire departments and other law enforcement officers respond to areas around the Guadalupe River after realizing the severity of the situation. Frantic calls would come from people on rooftops and in attic rafters who say they felt the cabins moving under them. Calls would also come from people who scrambled up trees after it was too late to leave by car. A U.S. Geological Survey river gauge about a half mile (0.8 km) east of Hunt is already recording almost 24 feet (7.3 meters) of water – considered major flood stage for the Guadalupe River. As the water rises in a home near the river, Jane Towler captured video on her phone of the muddy water in the kitchen. 'Everything in our yard has floated away,' she told her son and a family friend. 'I want us to be prepared to go up in the attic.' They wound up surviving the night on the roof. Kerr County's 'CodeRed' alert system, which allows the county to send cellphone alerts, would become a point of contention after the flood. Residents and others ask why county officials didn't use the alerts at the height of the emergency. Fire rescuers had asked for a 'CodeRed' alert as early as 4:22 a.m. East of Hunt, the swell of water overtakes an area full of out-of-town campers. A fire rescuer calls out that there are children trapped in the water at the RV parks behind Howdy's restaurant on the western edge of Kerrville. 'We're trying to keep people out of the water but they're trying to go in on their own to get those children,' she reports. 'We need some law enforcement down here, now!' Rescuers work to evacuate the RV parks as several of the vehicles are swept away, some with families still inside. Interviews with family members and others would later reveal that more than 40 people staying in the area died. A crew of rescuers from San Antonio arrive to help, but with no command center established, they wait for instructions in a fast food parking lot — less than 2 river miles (3.2 km) from the RV park. The rising water overtakes their trucks and strands their boats for hours. Radio traffic shows that an official command center wouldn't be set up until after 6 a.m. Other out-of-town crews rely on word of mouth to determine where and how to help. Many rescuers on the banks can't reach people in the swollen river. A firefighter runs along the river trying to find people he can hear in the water but cannot see. Volunteer firefighters are forced to think on their feet in a scenario many have never experienced before. They move teams to bridges and river crossings, trying to find places they can pull people from the water without boats. 'If you could, see if Kerrville's got a crew that they could set up at Bear Creek off Arcadia and see if they could pick up any of the people that are washing by us,' one asks a dispatcher. Screams sound in the distance as waters rise at an RV park along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. Testimony from Kerr County leaders at a legislative hearing at the end of July would confirm that the county's top official was out of town, the sheriff was asleep and the emergency management coordinator was sick in bed when the floods and the emergency response began. Additional rescuers from state task forces and neighboring counties continue to rely on others in the field for direction. 'Sir, we don't have an incident command right now,' a dispatcher tells one crew. 'Received,' the responder says. 'Please advise when you have an assignment for us.' As daylight breaks, emergency personnel are able to see the catastrophic scope of the flooding from the air, but rescuers keep struggling to find and reach survivors. They scan the water from bridges and crossings. 'I have multiple people in backyards hanging onto trees yelling at us, but we can't see them,' a rescuer tells dispatch. As the morning stretches on, dispatchers start getting calls from people spotting possible survivors. 'We've been contacted by a passerby,' a Kerr County dispatcher tells rescuers. 'There's a person flashing a signal light in the trees in the vicinity of Tranquility Island. I believe they're summoning rescue.' Rescues, including by helicopter, continue into the afternoon. Crews also begin recovering bodies. For many families holding out hope of having their loved ones returned, it would take days or weeks due to the massive amount of debris and the widespread search area along the Guadalupe River. The death toll would grow to at least 136; three people remain missing. Residents along the Guadalupe River and the families of victims have questioned why they had no notice of the impending flood. The waters rose quickly in the middle of the night, and hard-hit Kerr County lacked an updated flood warning system; state and local agencies had missed opportunities to finance one. Local officials told Texas lawmakers who visited the area weeks later that they also need better communications systems and broadband. Questions have also been raised about why top emergency officials weren't involved sooner. Lawmakers say they are intent on learning lessons from the catastrophe.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Emergency recordings and videos detail the chaotic rescue efforts during the deadly Texas floods
Cries for help came from the pitch-black woods, from rooftops and from attics that shifted unsteadily as the water rose. Firefighters and police raced to help, having little guidance on where or how. Top emergency leaders were asleep or out of town. Using recordings of first responder communications, weather service warnings, survivor videos and official testimony, The Associated Press has assembled a chronology of the chaotic rescue effort as a flash flood barreled east through the Hill Country of Central Texas before dawn on July 4. The flooding killed at least 136 people — including more than two dozen children and counselors at Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp for girls that was among the first areas inundated. Here are some of the harrowing moments: 12:30 to 1:15 a.m. CDT In a Slack chat, a National Weather Service forecaster tells emergency managers, meteorologists and news media that the agency is monitoring Kerr County, but so far there has been little rain. Within 40 minutes, two weather cells combine, creating a dramatically more dangerous situation. A flash flood warning goes out at 1:14 a.m. With the storm making already spotty cellphone service worse, some people report receiving the first National Weather Service notification on their phones, while others say they never received it. 2 to 3 a.m. The water rises quickly at Camp Mystic. A spokesperson for the camp would later say staff began evacuating campers and counselors between 2 and 2:30 a.m. The girls leave their cabins and try to wade to safety. None of the emergency communications between midnight and 6 a.m. reviewed by the AP were about responses to the camp. 3:30 to 4 a.m. Kerr County emergency dispatchers request the first water rescue at 3:35 a.m. Emergency calls come in for homes flooding along Highway 39. 'Caller's house flooded,' a dispatcher radios. 'All the residents are on their house.' A later call from Camp La Junta staff reports dozens of boys are in the water after a cabin flooded. Several volunteer fire departments and other law enforcement officers respond to areas around the Guadalupe River after realizing the severity of the situation. Frantic calls would come from people on rooftops and in attic rafters who say they felt the cabins moving under them. Calls would also come from people who scrambled up trees after it was too late to leave by car. 4:16 a.m. A U.S. Geological Survey river gauge about a half mile (0.8 km) east of Hunt is already recording almost 24 feet (7.3 meters) of water – considered major flood stage for the Guadalupe River. As the water rises in a home near the river, Jane Towler captured video on her phone of the muddy water in the kitchen. 'Everything in our yard has floated away,' she told her son and a family friend. 'I want us to be prepared to go up in the attic.' They wound up surviving the night on the roof. Kerr County's 'CodeRed' alert system, which allows the county to send cellphone alerts, would become a point of contention after the flood. Residents and others ask why county officials didn't use the alerts at the height of the emergency. Fire rescuers had asked for a 'CodeRed' alert as early as 4:22 a.m. East of Hunt, the swell of water overtakes an area full of out-of-town campers. 4:35 a.m. A fire rescuer calls out that there are children trapped in the water at the RV parks behind Howdy's restaurant on the western edge of Kerrville. 'We're trying to keep people out of the water but they're trying to go in on their own to get those children,' she reports. 'We need some law enforcement down here, now!' Rescuers work to evacuate the RV parks as several of the vehicles are swept away, some with families still inside. Interviews with family members and others would later reveal that more than 40 people staying in the area died. 4:45 a.m. A crew of rescuers from San Antonio arrive to help, but with no command center established, they wait for instructions in a fast food parking lot — less than 2 river miles (3.2 km) from the RV park. The rising water overtakes their trucks and strands their boats for hours. Radio traffic shows that an official command center wouldn't be set up until after 6 a.m. Other out-of-town crews rely on word of mouth to determine where and how to help. Many rescuers on the banks can't reach people in the swollen river. 4:59 a.m. A firefighter runs along the river trying to find people he can hear in the water but cannot see. Volunteer firefighters are forced to think on their feet in a scenario many have never experienced before. They move teams to bridges and river crossings, trying to find places they can pull people from the water without boats. 'If you could, see if Kerrville's got a crew that they could set up at Bear Creek off Arcadia and see if they could pick up any of the people that are washing by us,' one asks a dispatcher. 5:09 a.m. Screams sound in the distance as waters rise at an RV park along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. Testimony from Kerr County leaders at a legislative hearing at the end of July would confirm that the county's top official was out of town, the sheriff was asleep and the emergency management coordinator was sick in bed when the floods and the emergency response began. 5:32 a.m. Additional rescuers from state task forces and neighboring counties continue to rely on others in the field for direction. 'Sir, we don't have an incident command right now,' a dispatcher tells one crew. 'Received,' the responder says. 'Please advise when you have an assignment for us.' 6 to 6:30 a.m. As daylight breaks, emergency personnel are able to see the catastrophic scope of the flooding from the air, but rescuers keep struggling to find and reach survivors. They scan the water from bridges and crossings. 'I have multiple people in backyards hanging onto trees yelling at us, but we can't see them,' a rescuer tells dispatch. 8:33 a.m. As the morning stretches on, dispatchers start getting calls from people spotting possible survivors. 'We've been contacted by a passerby,' a Kerr County dispatcher tells rescuers. 'There's a person flashing a signal light in the trees in the vicinity of Tranquility Island. I believe they're summoning rescue.' Rescues, including by helicopter, continue into the afternoon. Crews also begin recovering bodies. For many families holding out hope of having their loved ones returned, it would take days or weeks due to the massive amount of debris and the widespread search area along the Guadalupe River. In the following days The death toll would grow to at least 136; three people remain missing. Residents along the Guadalupe River and the families of victims have questioned why they had no notice of the impending flood. The waters rose quickly in the middle of the night, and hard-hit Kerr County lacked an updated flood warning system; state and local agencies had missed opportunities to finance one. Local officials told Texas lawmakers who visited the area weeks later that they also need better communications systems and broadband. Questions have also been raised about why top emergency officials weren't involved sooner. Lawmakers say they are intent on learning lessons from the catastrophe. ___
