Deadly heatwave settles across US and Canada

[Gerald]

One New Yorker says being outside is like "sitting in a sauna all day long"

A punishing heatwave has settled over central and eastern parts of the US and Canada, pushing temperatures as high as 37C (99F) and causing up to 22 deaths.

The US weather service warned of "dangerous" levels of heat and humidity creeping east on Friday, with no relief in eastern states until Sunday.

As much as 50% of the US population was under a heat advisory, officials said.

Meteorologists have put the temperatures down to a "dome" of high pressure in the atmosphere.

Many regions in the central US and parts of the eastern seaboard have seen heat indexes - a combination of temperature and humidity - topping 43C.

Air sinks

The blistering heat has also hit parts of Canada, with temperatures in Toronto expected to top 35C on Friday, according to Environment Canada.

At 38C (101F), Syracuse in New York State has already witnessed its hottest day since 1936, forecasters say.

"This is an exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure that really has an exceptional scope and duration," Eli Jacks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the BBC.

"The air is sinking, as it sinks it compresses and gets warmer. It also dries out, so few clouds form to block the high early-summer sun," he said.

The combination of high heat and high humidity make it hard for the human body to cool itself - because sweat does not evaporate efficiently, he added.

Across the central and eastern US, people and animals alike have been struggling to keep cool amid the oppressive heat and humidity.

As the heat peaks in major population centres on the east coast, the number of deaths is expected to rise, officials warn.

Officials in the central state of Missouri say 13 people have died, and there have been fatalities in neighbouring Oklahoma, including a three-year-old boy.

In the town of Hutchinson in Kansas three elderly people were found dead in separate homes.

In Minnesota - a northern state known for its frigid winters - farm livestock have been dying from heat stress at a rate not seen in three decades, the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper reported. Turkeys have been hit especially hard, the paper reported.

In South Dakota, as many as 1,500 head of cattle have died in the heat, state veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven told Reuters news agency.

More than three-quarters of Texas is suffering from drought amid the worst dry spell in the state for decades.

Urban areas have opened cooling centres for the poor and elderly, and the National Weather Service has warned people in normally cool areas to be especially cautious.

Seattle shivers

Philadelphia has deployed police officers to manage hot, irritated crowds at the city's public swimming pools.

Electricity company Con Edison said scattered power cuts were likely in New York in the next several days amid a surge in usage of air conditioning units.

The city's fire chiefs have hired additional crews and officials have placed mobile fountains around the city to allow people to refill water bottles.

In Nashville, Tennessee, hospital staff have reported several cases of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Chicago is experiencing unhealthy smog levels caused by the heat. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency asked the city's residents to reduce polluting activities, such as mowing lawns and keeping the engines running on stationary vehicles.

Forecasters said the damage caused by the heat could be worse that that brought about by a heatwave in Chicago in 1995, when more than 700 people died over three days.

Asphalt and concrete pavements and buildings in cities were "re-radiating" the heat, forecasters say.

By Friday, the high pressure system moving east is expected to bring thunderstorms with hail to the north-eastern US.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14238358

Note: 22 July 2011 Last updated at 11:58 GMT

[frau kaleun]

It's brutal here. Heat index has been 105-110 deg F pretty much all week. Topping out at a possible 120 F in direct sunlight on the worst days. We were told there would be relief when the weekend got here but the heat alert has now been extended through tomorrow night at least. Supposedly a chance of some pop up showers/storms between now and then, but all that does is make it even more humid after the rain stops.

[Paul Riley]

I saw it on Sky News earlier,absolutely crazy!.One minute USA is being battered by storms now its baking in a freak heatwave affecting the entire continent.
It could also be down to a phase we are moving into known as the 'solar maximum' ,which occurs approx every 11yrs.Its where the energy frequency of the sun increases due to cosmic energy in space causing it to radiate more heat and energy,also huge sunspots have been reported on the sun recently.

[Gerald]

I love the heat ... the girls get wild,

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by Vendor

I love the heat ... the girls get wild,

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Hey ... I said girls, and girls proved they are ... but not my type ... but they'll find someone who fits them in the end,

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Vendor

I love the heat ... the girls get wild,

Well, this girl just gets cranky. I hate summer to begin with, and this is not summer. IT'S HELL ON EARTH.




No, I take it back. HELL ISN'T THIS STICKY.

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Well, this girl just gets cranky. I hate summer to begin with, and this is not summer. IT'S HELL ON EARTH.




No, I take it back. HELL ISN'T THIS STICKY.

Make it a little out of positive thinking, you can get nice heat, and enjoy the warmth of a pleasant way, and because you train so we know that heat is good for muscle conditioning, and that you may be able to travel to the North Pole, to get cool,

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

"Hi Babes...check me out"

[Growler]

Even the Army doesn't work that hard for long in this weather; for once in my life, I took a day off due to the heat - after yesterday's work, there's just no fuel for me to run on today, and no job is worth becoming a heat casualty.

It is unreal out there.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Well, this girl just gets cranky. I hate summer to begin with, and this is not summer. IT'S HELL ON EARTH.




No, I take it back. HELL ISN'T THIS STICKY.

And here in the high desert it's been cooler and wetter than usual. Normally we don't see a cloud from June to September, but this year it seems like it's rained every third day.

That could be the storms mentioned earlier, but normally it's almost 100 this time of year, and today it might reach 90. But we average 15% humidity for the year, so it's not sticky at all.

[papa_smurf]

Sounds like your due some heavy thunder/hail storms soon...

[Gerald]

At your service,

[Anthony W.]

I WISH it only got to 99!

I was in Appleton Wisconsin a few days ago and it was 125...

Got to 108 in my home town.

[Task Force]

I HATE HEAT! *******ING HEATWAVE! With humidity its 113F.