Latest news with #TennesseeValley
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Late July's oppressive heat forecast isn't normal
As the clock ticks down the final days of July, thermometers will climb across much of the eastern half of the U.S., creating a dangerous and long-lasting heat wave that will put millions at risk of heat stroke and other illnesses. Those in the path of the heat wave should plan to take extra measures to stay cool through at least July 30. Keep things chill by staying in air-conditioned spaces, visit friends with pools, pile up the popsicles and lemonade and pull out the recipe for your favorite cold summer salad. 'This will be a long duration heat wave, with little to no overnight relief and high humidity levels, leading to an increased danger,' the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center said on July 24. Daily highs in the upper-90s to near 100 degrees are forecast to combine with humidity to create conditions where the 'feels like' temperatures could exceed 110-115 degrees, according to a July 25 forecast by Jennifer Tate at the prediction center. A dome of high pressure sitting over the eastern part of the country will help trap the heat while abundant moisture in the air will make actual temperatures feel several degrees warmer. The unusual heat and humidity could linger for several days, keeping heat risk in the major to extreme categories through the end of the month across much of the eastern United States. The dangerous heat will be longest lasting across the Tennessee Valley/mid-South region and the Southeast into the Carolinas, said a Friday forecast by Jennifer Tate at the Weather Prediction Center. Morning lows in the 70s "will not provide much relief." Farther north, into the Midwest, Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic can expect hotter-than-normal temperatures into the 90s. Forecast maps from the weather service show the United States blanketed in warm shades of purple, red and orange, signifying intense heat. By July 30 or 31, a cold front is expected to help cool things in the Ohio valley region. Anyone who absolutely must be outside should take extra precautions to stay hydrated and keep their body safe, according to the American Red Cross. The heat isn't the only danger presented by the high pressure area dominating conditions. Interactions in the atmosphere around the perimeter of the heat dome are forecast to trigger thunderstorms and heavy rain. 'Not your grandmother's heat wave' It has always been hot during the summer. "We've always had heat waves," said Max Holmes, president and CEO of the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. "But it's happening a lot more, with greater intensity, greater duration and greater frequency." "This is exactly what we expected to happen," Holmes said. "As the earth gets warmer, we see more extremes and it's the extremes that get us. They kill us. They make us sick." Heat may be the most obvious, but there are others, including drought and the extreme rainfall that caused the deadly flash flooding in Texas Hill Country on July 4, he said. These extremes can be seen in the current heat wave, with forecasts for record breaking temperatures under the high pressure area, and intense rainfall in storms around the perimeter of the heat dome. June 2025 was the seventh hottest June on record, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. During the first two weeks of July 2025, temperatures across the country were an average of 1.5 degrees warmer than the most recent 30-year normal. Historical data from the weather service shows average temperatures in July have trended roughly 2.7 degrees warmer since 1950. If a human body temperature is normally 98.6 degrees and warmed 2.7 degrees, it would be the equivalent of having a fever of 101.3. In nature, such an increase has a similar effect, scientists explain. Average overnight temperatures across the country have climbed even higher than daytime high temperatures, the weather service data shows. That means the landscape, trees and buildings don't get a chance to cool down, so they can heat up even faster the next day. Why is it so hot? If you live in a city, the answer might surprise you. Extreme levels of heat stress have more than doubled over the past 40 years, according to NASA, and that trend is forecast to continue. An analysis by Climate Central, published July 21, concluded human-caused climate change made the recent excessive heat at least three times more likely for nearly half the population of the United States. 'This is not your grandmother's heat wave," said Kristina Dahl, Climate Central's vice president of science. "Yes, July is usually a hot month, but climate change is making this heat wave significantly hotter — and therefore more dangerous — than heat waves of the past.' How hot is too hot for people? Prolonged exposure to warmer temperatures can cause serious, life-threatening complications including dehydration, a rapid or irregular heart beat and exacerbation of existing medical conditions. Scientists in recent studies have indicated the warmest temperature that human bodies can withstand without losing their ability to regulate temperature is lower than commonly believed. They've come to rely on a measurement known as wet bulb temperature to determine the dangers. It uses a thermometer with a wet wick over its bulb and measures the effect of humidity on temperatures. Humidity can impair the body's essential cooling mechanism – sweat doesn't evaporate. Scientists previously thought the warmest temperature a human body could take before losing its ability to regulate its own temperature was roughly 95 degrees at 100% humidity or 115 degrees at 50% humidity. A 2022 study co-authored by scientists at Penn State concluded the actual maximum temperature humans could take for prolonged periods was even lower using a wet-bulb thermometer, about 87 degrees at 100% humidity, even for people who are young and healthy. Among those even more at risk, such as the elderly and young children, the maximum temperature is probably even lower, the study found. See how a heat dome will trap dangerous temperatures over the central and southern U.S. What can you do to protect yourself and others from extreme heat? In short, the Red Cross advises: Know who's most at risk – Look out for older adults, young children, pregnant women, those with disabilities or medications for a chronic health conditions, people who live alone and athletes. Stay hydrated – Drink water every 20 minutes, even if you aren't thirsty and avoid sugary drinks, caffeine and alcohol. Stay cool – Seek out an air-conditioned location if your home gets too hot, limit outdoor activity and dress in lightweight, loose-fitting clothes. If your air-conditioning goes off, it might be cooler outside in the shade than staying inside the house. Act fast – Take measures to cool a person down quickly if they develop signs of heat exhaustion or stroke, such as cramps, heavy sweating, clammy skin, dizziness, fainting or nausea and vomiting. Move them to a cooler place, remove extra clothing and cool them with a wet cloth or cool bath and have them sip water or a sports drink, but not "energy" drinks. Where can you get more information? Resources are available to learn more about the dangers of heat-related illnesses and how to help yourself and others stay safe, but not as many as there used to be. A heat risk tool maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track heat risk and heat illnesses was taken out of service this year and is no longer active. The website is still available, but no new information is being added. Trump administration officials have taken steps to curb what they refer to as climate alarmism, and have changed wording about climate change, no longer including it as an environmental topic on the home page of the Environmental Protection Agency, and stopped maintaining other websites, such as and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention page to track heat risk and heat illnesses. A tool on the CDC page now shows an error message. Reporting by the administration's Department of Government Efficiency shows the termination of more than 350 grants that mentioned climate change, including dozens that mentioned heat specifically. NOAA's proposed budget for the coming year stated it would no longer support the National Integrated Heat Health Information System, the federal website on heat and heat-related illnesses that brings together information from NOAA and more than a dozen other departments and agencies. For now, the comprehensive guide launched during the Biden administration to try to reduce the rising rate of heat illnesses in the United States is still online. To Holmes, much of the information being obscured is factual, not political. "There are combinations of temperature and humidity the human body just can't tolerate," Holmes said. "Trying to hide the truth doesn't help people." "I see zero rationale for trying to bury that information. It's shameful that our government is doing so," he said. "It's not a partisan thing, it's a fact thing." Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, covers climate change, weather, the environment and other news. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: This heat forecast for eastern US in late July isn't normal Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
US heat dome causes dangerous conditions for more than 100 million people
More than a 100 million people in the US will face dangerous conditions over the weekend as a heat dome that has scorched much of the center of the country nudges eastward. Heat advisories were in place on Friday all across the north-eastern coast from Portland, Maine, to Wilmington, North Carolina, with the daytime heat index temperatures 10 to 15F above average in some places. Overnight temperatures will also be very warm and oppressively muggy, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). While thunderstorms, some of them severe, are expected to break the heat by Friday night for the north-east, heat and humidity will continue to build further south with the most persistent and dangerous conditions expected across the south-east and Tennessee Valley this weekend. The heat index is what the temperature feels like when humidity is taken into account. New York City is forecast to swelter under a 106F heat index on Friday afternoon – slightly higher than Phoenix, Arizona, the hottest major city in the US. In the south-east, the heat index could exceed 115F, risking the health and lives of people without access to sufficient cooling or adequate hydration, the NWS warned. 'This will be a long duration heat wave, with little to no overnight relief and high humidity levels, leading to an increased danger,' the federal service warned. High temperatures and high humidity increase the risk of heat exhaustion, heat illnesses and death, with children, older people and those with existing physical and mental health conditions at highest risk. Outdoor workers – gardeners, builders, farmers, and delivery workers – along with unhoused people and those with substance use issues are particularly vulnerable. A heat dome is a particular weather phenomenon where hot air is trapped over a region by a stalled high-pressure system causing high temperatures on the ground. With little cloud cover due to the stuck high-pressure system, the sun's rays directly hit the ground, further increasing the heat. While heat domes cause heatwaves – which are becoming more frequent thanks to the climate crisis – there can be heatwaves without heat domes. Climate scientists have found that heat domes are getting hotter due to global heating caused by humans burning fossil fuels. And while the latest dome in the US is moving slowly, it continues to cause dangerous conditions in parts of the mid-south to mid-Mississippi Valley, with heat alerts still in place from Oklahoma to West Virginia. In the so-called corn belt, the midwestern and some southern states where most corn is farmed, a phenomenon known as corn sweat exacerbates the humidity, and can increase the heat index by as much as 10F. This is due to the pores on the underside of maize leaves, where oxygen – and water vapor – are released, Justin Glisan , state climatologist of Iowa, said in an interview with CBS News. Meteorologists have also forecast flash flooding from north-east Kansas to much of Indiana, as well as possible scattered thunderstorms across parts of New England, the northern mid-Atlantic, and North Dakota. Meanwhile dry, windy conditions have triggered a red flag wildfire warning for parts of Utah and Oregon.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘It was on its way out': Huntsville bridge collapses months before repairs would have started
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Construction crews were out and working on the Aldridge Creek Greenway Wednesday after a bridge collapsed along the trail Tuesday morning. The trestle bridge collapsed, dropping two rail cars into the creek below. Huntsville Madison County Railroad Authority (HMCR) said no one was injured and the train cars were not carrying any hazardous materials. 📲 to stay updated on the go. 📧 to have news sent to your inbox. The Aldridge Creek Greenway is a popular spot for people across the Tennessee Valley to enjoy various outdoor activities. Some runners, like Abraham Flores, said they were not aware of the trestle bridge collapse until they encountered roadblocks from construction crews along the trail Wednesday. 'I was just running on the trail. I parked at Challenger, running down it. And I noticed it was closed off, and I was really confused,' Flores said. 'I thought about going around it, but I was like, I think there's a reason.' That reason is that greenway space surrounding the bridge is closed to the public due to an ongoing federal investigation into the collapse, along with keeping trail users safe. Holly Weber grew up near the creek and said the bridge has been deteriorating for quite some time, saying the weather was a large factor in its structural integrity. Only on News 19: Family shares experience with daughter's rare genetic disorder 'I couldn't believe it finally came down. It looked like it was on its way out, but it kind of sucks to see it go,' Weber said. 'The wood was in bad shape. The creek floods a lot, so over the years, there was a lot of water damage to it.' Governor Ivey awarded the HMCR a $1 million grant in 2024, dedicated to repairing railroads, including the Aldridge Creek bridge. In a press release from The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, Ivey speaks of the railroad's industrial importance. 'The Huntsville and Madison County Railroad Authority has been an important short-line railroad that for years has dutifully served multiple industries. I am pleased to announce this funding for the upgrades that will help the rail system continue providing vital service for area industries for years to come.' Governor Kay Ivey Mark Lumb with the HMCR said those funds will be available in October, and repairs to the bridge and railroad could start around then. Although there is no start date or plan in place without the funding. Those repairs will now take several months and could cost more than the grant. The greenway area surrounding the bridge will be closed while the investigation continues, and will likely remain closed after its completion for repairs. It is unclear if industries that receive materials due to this train's operation will be impacted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Madison County nonprofit holds back-to-school readiness program Saturday
HAZEL GREEN, Ala. (WHNT) — As hard as it is to believe, it's almost time for children in the Tennessee Valley to head back to school. The Caring Link, a nonprofit, held its second annual back-to-school readiness program at Flint River Baptist Church. The two-day event provided over 400 children from Madison County with essentials like five new outfits, socks, shoes, underwear, school supplies, haircuts and even hearing and vision screenings, free of charge. Caring Link President Kate O'Neal said that helping kids brings her joy, but more importantly, helps set them up for success as they start the school year. 'It's really important for us to provide these resources for children because it helps them focus in the classroom, and we know that education is a cycle breaker of poverty, but it's really hard to focus on getting a quality education when you don't have your basic needs met,' O'Neal said. 'We want to meet those basic needs so they can thrive in the classroom and then beyond that.' The event also featured several other nonprofits that offer a variety of services for families in need. This isn't the only way the Caring Link helps students in Madison County. Throughout the year, they have care closets in different schools that help students with essential items. To find out more about the Caring Link, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center celebrates 65 years!
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — It's the 'Blue Sapphire Anniversary' for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center! Established on July 1, 1960, Marshall has been a leader in space exploration and innovation for over six decades. The center is impacting and shaping the economy and even the culture of not just Huntsville, but the entire Tennessee Valley. 'Pretty Little Baby' singer Connie Francis dies at 87 Throughout the year, Marshall is honoring its anniversary with special events and activities for the workforce and public, which includes Marshall's 65th Anniversary event Saturday, July 19, at The Orion Amphitheater. That's happening from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The best part, it's FREE! Marshall, along with its partners and collaborators, will fill the amphitheater with space exhibits, music, food vendors, and hands-on activities for all ages. Even some NASA astronauts from Expedition 72, who recently returned from missions aboard the International Space Station, will participate in this celebratory event. You can find out more about the event by clicking the image below: Be sure to check out our video above, where talked with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's 15th Director, Joseph Pelfrey on what it means to pass 65 years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
