Massive heatwave grips west and southwest parts of the U.S.
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:16 AM PT – Thursday, June 17, 2021
The western and central United States are suffering through a massive
heat wave putting nearly 50 million people under either a heat advisory
or an excessive heat warning. Health officials are urging people to be
extra alert now after months of pandemic lockdowns and restrictions.
“This year has brought all kinds of changes in routine, lots of
stress, lots of fatigue,” stated Jessica Strong, community health
manager at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. “And so, that
combined with the record temperatures we’re experiencing right now,
unfortunately could be a recipe for disaster.”
According to the National Weather Service, widespread excessive heat
warnings and advisories are in effect for California, Nevada, Arizona
and Utah. Meanwhile, Salt Lake City set a heat record for the second day
in a row after peaking at 107 degrees Tuesday. This is its hottest
temperature ever recorded.
Meanwhile in Texas, the scorching temperatures have sparked another
round of power plant outages for the Electric Reliability Council of
Texas (ERCOT) as temperatures topped 100 degrees on Monday. ERCOT issued
an advisory calling on Texas to reduce electric use as much as possible
through Friday while urging there is a “very concerning” amount of
power plant outages ongoing as a result of the heat waves. Roughly
10,000 ERCOT customers of lost power, in turn, causing stress and panic
among Texas residents.
“It’s frustrating because I’m working from home,” stated Texas
resident Paula Than. “I have a dog who needs power, so it’s very
frustrating to not have any answers.”
This comes as temperatures have already broken dozens of record high
across the region, including California, Arizona and Montana with more
expected to fall this weekend. The National Weather Service is warning
that both daytime and overnight temperature records are likely to be
broken by next week.
The agency also urged pet owners to be attentive to animals when out
for walks and when in cars. It also issued fire danger advisories while
noting such conditions can be dangerous and in some cases fatal.
