More than 130 million people across the United States are under alerts as a dangerous and widespread heat wave intensifies through Sunday and into the coming week, with some of the worst conditions expected along the Southeast coast. The most extreme temperatures on Sunday are concentrated between Savannah, Georgia, and Virginia Beach, Virginia, where heat warnings remain in place. In these areas, the combination of high humidity and heat is driving heat indices to range between 108 and 116 degrees, making outdoor conditions particularly hazardous. Similar conditions are gripping parts of the Midwest, with temperatures feeling like 97 to 111 degrees stretching from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cities such as Charleston, West Virginia, and St. Louis, Missouri, are also facing oppressive heat with feels-like readings climbing between 102 and 112 degrees.
Other major urban centers, including Dallas, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Tampa, Little Rock, Kansas City, and Washington, D.C., are all under heat advisories as forecasters expect heat indices ranging from the upper 90s to 110 degrees. As the week begins, the oppressive conditions are forecast to expand into the I-95 corridor from Boston to New York City on Monday and Tuesday, with dangerous heat and humidity persisting through at least Wednesday. Cities like St. Louis, Memphis, Charlotte, Savannah, Tampa, and Jackson, Mississippi, are bracing for actual highs in the upper 90s and low 100s, with humidity pushing feels-like temperatures into the 105 to 115 range for consecutive days. Overnight conditions will provide little to no relief as low temperatures remain in the 70s or higher. Between Monday and Wednesday, large sections of the Southeast, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Tallahassee, will face the highest level of extreme heat risk. At the same time, severe thunderstorms threaten parts of southern and central Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, where a watch remains in effect until midnight, with additional storms expected across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula into Sunday night. Weather-related disruptions have already impacted air travel, with more than 1,100 flights canceled and over 8,300 delayed by Sunday evening as storms and heat affect large parts of the country.