Heat Wave Over Most of US Finally Breaks
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Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Relief from a record-breaking heat wave in the Midwest and East has finally arrived, and residents can expect more seasonal temperatures over the next five days.
The triple-digit temperatures are being blamed for at least 35 heat-related deaths, including 18 in Chicago’s Cook County.
Some 2,438 high-temperature records were set during an 11-day period that ended Saturday, according to AccuWeather.com, including in Raleigh, N.C., where the thermometer went over the 100-degree mark for six days straight.
In Washington D.C., the temperature went above 95 degrees for 11 straight days, including a one-day record of 105 on Saturday.
The intense heat has buckled roads, bent rails, derailed trains and even melted airport runway asphalt.
US Airways reports one of its planes got stuck on Friday when its wheels sank into tarmac “soft spots” while pulling away from a gate at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The passengers and luggage were removed while an airport tug towed the plane out of its sticky mess. The flight was delayed for three hours.
Approximately 100,000 people in West Virginia and Ohio are still without power, more than a week after powerful thunderstorms tore through the region.
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