At least six people have died from heat-related causes this year so far in sizzling metro Phoenix, where the temperatures this week hit 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius), Arizona's Maricopa Department of Public Health reported this week. Another 87 deaths are under investigation for possible heat-related causes through last Saturday, public health officials said in the most recent weekly update to its online heat surveillance information.
Phoenix hit 115° F (46° C) on Thursday, June 20 and Friday, June 21, making them the hottest days of 2024 up to now. The metro area continued to swelter through an excessive heat warning under a dome of high pressure, with some moisture and a slight cooling possible over the weekend.
"We might see a little rain over the next few days because there is a 30% chance for Phoenix," said meteorologist Ryan Worley of the National Weather Service. "There could be a slight cool down to around 110°, but temperatures should go n back up next week."
Situated in the Sonora desert, Maricopa County saw a stunning 645 heat-related deaths last year, about 50% more than the 425 confirmed for 2022.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs declared a state of emergency in 2023 after metro Phoenix experienced a 31-day streak of temperatures reaching at least 110° F (43.3° C). Maricopa County, the hottest big metro area in the US, is among few jurisdictions that provide regularly updated data on heat-related deaths that can be easily accessed by the public.
The Office of the Medical Examiner in Pima County, home to Arizona's second most populous city of Tucson, this year added a dashboard to track heat deaths there. So far this year, there have been at least five heat-related deaths in Pima County, plus three more in the rural counties that contract with Pima for forensic services.
Last year in Pima County there were 176 heat-related deaths and another 51 such deaths in the five additional rural counties that the medical examiner handles.
A relentless heat wave continued on Friday in parts of Ohio and Indiana, where heat indexes were likely to soar past 100° Fahrenheit (37.8° Celsius) and remain there most of the day. But the Midwest was not the only area being baked, as heat and excessive heat warnings and advisories has been issued across the northeast, the mid-Atlantic and in some western states.
Idaho officials said two people in their 60s have died of heat-related causes – the state's first heat-related deaths of the year. Health officials did not release additional information about the victims Friday, including where they died.
Millions of residents across the country have had their lives disrupted by days of unusually high temperatures. In Michigan, utility crews from several states were working feverishly Friday to restore power to thousands of suburban Detroit customers, two days after severe storms knocked out their power, leaving residents suffering amid a heat wave expected to linger through Saturday.
About 12,000 homes and businesses remained without power Friday afternoon in Oakland County, a suburban area north of Detroit hit hard by Wednesday night's storms that cut power to about 75,000 homes and businesses at its peak, said Brian Calka, DTE Energy's vice president of distribution operations.
Between 500 and 600 crew members from utilities in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois were working with about 1,000 DTE Energy utility workers and another 1,000 tree-trimming contractors to get the power back on amid the heat. Calka said the utility's goal is to get the power back on for all its customers by late Friday or early Saturday.
Utility crews were working 16-hour shifts to get the power back on and they were urged to deal with the heat by taking more breaks because they are wearing jeans, long-sleeved shirts, rubber gloves and hardhats for their work, Calka said.
This month's sizzling daytime temperatures were 35 times more likely and 2.5° F hotter (1.4° C) because of the warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas – in other words, human-caused climate change. That is according to World Weather Attribution, a collection of scientists that run rapid climate attribution studies that have not been peer-reviewed.
The US last year experienced the most heat waves since 1936, experts said. An Associated Press analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data found that the excessive heat contributed to more than 2,300 US deaths, the highest number in 45 years of records.
The excessive heat wasn't the only weather-related issue in some states. Several small-town tourist meccas in northern Minnesota continued to be inundated by floodwaters after a deluge of rain earlier this week, prompting the closure of major roads and leaving a costly trail of damage.
On Friday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz traveled to St. Louis County, where people in one town paddled through flood-ridden streets in small boats and officials estimated the floods had caused at least $50 million in damage and prompted the closure of more than 40 roads.
With little relief expected in the coming days, several events were being postponed or rescheduled due to the extreme heat.