Heat wave warning: See which parts of the U.S. are bracing for a record-setting temperatures this week

Yahoo

14-05-2025

An unseasonably sweltering heat wave is forecast to hit large swaths of the United States over the course of this week, bringing record temperatures across the Southeast and northern Plains.
The National Weather Service is forecasting that 34 cities will either match or exceed the highest temperature on record for this time of year. The heat will be especially brutal in Texas, where record highs are expected across the state. San Antonio is forecast to reach 107°F on Wednesday, a full 10 degrees above the highest temperature ever recorded on May 14. Del Rio, Texas, is forecast to hit 110, surpassing the previous record by seven degrees.
'Potentially historic and unusually hot high temps continue with most areas reaching 100 or higher each afternoon, many records likely to be tied or broken,' the NWS office in San Antonio wrote on X Tuesday.
Northern states are also facing unprecedented heat, with records forecast for parts of Wyoming along with North and South Dakota. Strong winds that are accompanying the heat have created 'critical fire weather' in the region as well.
Temperatures will ease slightly in the central regions of the U.S. over the next few days as the heat shifts eastward, bringing the chance for record highs to parts of North Carolina and Florida.
Triple-digit weather is not uncommon in many of these places; what is unique is how early in the year it is arriving.
'Definitely more like August this week than May,' Cameron Self, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's office in the Houston and Galveston area, told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Like all other forms of extreme weather, heat waves have become more intense because of climate change. The U.S. now sees nearly three times as many heat waves per year as it did in the 1960s, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. They haven't just become more frequent, they also last longer and reach higher temperatures. America's heat wave season now lasts 70 days. In the 1960s, it was just 24 days long.
Heat is dangerous at all times of year, but early heat waves can be especially risky because people often aren't as prepared for extreme heat as they would be in the summer months.
'Timing can matter, as heat waves that occur earlier in the spring or later in the fall can catch people off-guard and increase exposure to the health risks associated with heat waves,' the EPA warns.
The National Weather Service is advising Americans not to underestimate the risks of the current heat wave just because it's coming in late spring. On Tuesday, the agency shared guidance on how to recognize the symptoms of heat exhaustion — which include dizziness, heavy sweating, nausea and weakness — as well as those of more advanced, and potentially deadly, heatstroke.