DES MOINES, Iowa — A powerful heat wave that has been baking the Midwest since the start of the week is on the move, and the Eastern United States — including the Mid-Atlantic region — is next in line. Outdoor events have been scrapped or pushed back, cooling centers have been activated, and health officials are warning people to take the heat seriously.
“Overall, we’re looking at just a really hot and humid pattern. It’s going to be with us through most of the week,” said Andrew Ansorge, a meteorologist based in Des Moines, Iowa, describing what he called the first prolonged stretch of heat this summer.
Much of Iowa and large portions of the Midwest remained under an extreme heat warning through at least Tuesday. Actual air temperatures were expected to climb into the 90s, but the “feels-like” heat index — which accounts for humidity — was forecast to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius), according to Ansorge.
Early Monday morning, a couple from Rogers, Arkansas, Tom and Cindy Youngblood, both 67, were already out walking through an outdoor sculpture park in Des Moines, where the heat index had already hit 96 degrees Fahrenheit (35.5 degrees Celsius) by 6 a.m.
“The breeze is helpful,” said Tom Youngblood, as he and his wife ducked in and out of shaded spots along the path.
The couple had just returned from a camping trip in Wisconsin but decided to skip sleeping in their camper van Sunday night. “We did not want to camp last night because we knew it would be too hot,” Cindy Youngblood said.
The heat is expected to get even more intense as it shifts toward the Ohio Valley, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast later in the week. Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said the worst conditions are likely to arrive Thursday and Friday, with the possibility of record-high temperatures being broken in some areas.
Kleebauer stressed that people should stay hydrated and find access to shade and air conditioning. He also noted the timing is particularly tricky: “It just so happens to be coinciding with a time frame where a lot of people are away and a lot of people are going away for vacation” during the Fourth of July holiday week.
The heat wave is not just a U.S. problem. In Europe, temperature records have also been shattered, and France has reported numerous heat-related deaths.
Medical professionals are raising the alarm about how quickly heat can become dangerous. Dr. Roy Elrod, chief of staff at DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, said people often let their guard down at the start of summer.
“You’re happy winter’s gone, you’re ready to enjoy the summer, you’ve just been aching for it,” Elrod said. “And so, I think we slip into kind of a position where we think it’s got to be OK.”
But that mindset can lead to serious injury. Elrod warned that heat-related illness can set in within minutes, especially for those who skip the basics — drinking enough water, wearing light clothing, staying out of the sun during peak hours, and limiting overall exposure.
“We’re just not always prepared for it and it just takes an incident that rattles you and shakes you up that you understand that it can get serious very quick,” he said.
Across the Midwest on Monday, summer camp schedules were reshuffled to keep kids out of the heat. A farmers market in Michigan and a drive-in theater in Minnesota both shut down for the day due to the dangerous temperatures. In Flint, Michigan, the city opened four cooling centers that are set to operate through Wednesday, with the possibility of extending that timeline if the heat lingers.
Meanwhile, the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced it would close 23 campus buildings to the public beginning Tuesday and limit access to 11 others. A broken water line at the university’s cooling plant earlier this month has significantly reduced air conditioning capacity across campus, forcing some summer classes to be relocated.
