Summer scorcher: Excessive heat headed to Northeast
(NEW YORK) — The hottest weather of the season is spreading across the eastern half of the U.S. — with cities in the Northeast in the bull’s-eye on Wednesday — after baking the Midwest with extreme temperatures early in the week.
Chicago’s actual temperature hit 99 degrees on Tuesday, breaking the city’s daily record of 97 degrees. The heat index — what temperature it feels like with humidity — soared to a scorching 115 degrees in Chicago on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, 55 million people from Missouri to New York City are on alert for heat.
The heat index is forecast to soar to 105 degrees in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.; 102 degrees in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky; 104 in Richmond, Virginia; 103 in Nashville, Tennessee; and 96 in New York City and Pittsburgh.
The scorching temperatures will end in the Northeast on Thursday, but will linger in the Ohio Valley and Tennessee Valley through Friday.
Record highs are possible in Nashville, Tennessee; Cincinnati and Raleigh, North Carolina, by the end of the week.
There are hundreds of deaths each year in the U.S. due to excessive heat, according to CDC WONDER, an online database, and scientists caution that the actual number of heat-related deaths is likely higher.
Last year marked the most heat-related deaths in the U.S. on record, according to JAMA, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden penned a letter to commemorate one year since the fatal fires in Maui.
In the letter, he reflected on the devastation he saw in his visit to the island and how the flames impacted the communities in Lahaina and Kula.
“We said a silent prayer before your beloved banyan tree, which had been charred by the flames, but was still clinging to life. That sacred tree still stands today. Its new growth reflects the strength and resilience of your community,” Biden wrote in the letter to the people of Maui.
A devastating wildfire tore through the Hawaii island of Maui on Aug. 8, 2023, killing dozens of people and destroying the town of Lahaina. In the letter, Biden remembered the “tremendous loss and devastation” and also honored the “courage and kindness” that existed in the “darkest of moments.”
Biden pointed to the work of first responders and the way that neighbors helped and supported each other in those harrowing days.
“We continue to hold the people of Maui in our hearts and prayers,” Biden said in the letter.
In addition, the White House is touting their efforts to continue to pursue “a coordinated and comprehensive Federal response” and help the long-term recovery of the community. The administration pointed to the “nearly $3 billion in Federal support to response, recovery, and rebuilding efforts.”
(BEL AIR, Md.) — At least one person was found dead and another was injured after an explosion Sunday morning leveled a home and damaged multiple neighboring residences in a suburban Baltimore neighborhood, authorities said.
The blast was reported around 6:42 a.m. on Arthur Woods Drive in the Harford County city of Bel Air, about 32 miles north of Baltimore, according to officials.
A 35-year-old contractor for Baltimore Gas and Electric was confirmed as the person killed by the explosion, Master Deputy Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said Sunday. The name of the BGE contractor was not immediately released. A female neighbor living adjacent to the home that exploded was also injured, suffering cuts and bruises, and treated at the scene, Alkire said.
A photo posted on X by Harford County Fire and Emergency Medical Services showed firefighters battling a small fire and searching the remains of the home, which was reduced to splintered pieces of wood, insulation and other debris.
“I’ve been on the job for 18 years and this was one of the largest explosions I’ve seen,” Alkire said during a news conference earlier Sunday.
Alkire said firefighters from the Harford County Fire Department were responding to a report of a gas leak in the area when the explosion occurred.
Jeffrey Sexton, a spokesperson for the Harford County Fire and EMS Association, confirmed that the remains of the BGE worker were found in a large debris field caused by the explosion.
Search-and-rescue crews on Sunday afternoon were still combing “piece by piece” through the rubble, which stretched across multiple blocks, officials said.
Alkire said that at least two BGE contract workers had also responded to the area before the explosion to investigate an electrical issue. He said the workers were aware of reports of an odor of gas in the area when the explosion occurred.
Multiple homes were damaged and a damage assessment was being conducted, according to Alkire. He said no evacuations have been ordered.
Alkire confirmed the house that exploded was for sale, but it was unclear if anyone was inside the house when it exploded. Officials described the house as being a “total loss.”
The cause of the explosion is under investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Harford County Sheriff’s Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Residents in the neighborhood reported hearing the loud explosion and feeling their houses shake, authorities said.
Jefferey Beyers, who lives near the home that was destroyed by the blast, told ABC News that he and his wife were awakened by a “deafening explosion coupled with the kind of feeling of an earthquake.” Beyers pointed out windows in his house that he said were blown out from the frames.
“I think it’s important to get to the bottom of it, like understand what happened so that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” Beyers said.
Another neighbor, Marshall Garrett, who also lives nearby, told ABC News that he immediately rushed to the scene, beating the fire engines there. He described the scene as complete devastation and said it looked like something out of a movie.
“At first, we saw, we just saw the rubble,” Garrett said. “And then we started to see the flames streak out, and the smoke goes in the air.”
ABC News’ Davone Morales, Perry Russom and Tia Humphries contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — A sheriff’s deputy in California has been hospitalized after she was run over by a driver who was attempting to flee the scene after being pulled over during a traffic stop, officials said.
The sheriff’s deputy from Ventura County, California, tried to conduct a traffic stop at approximately 8:30 p.m. Tuesday near Ventura Avenue and Kellogg Street, according to a statement from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office that was obtained by ABC News’ Los Angeles station KABC-TV.
It’s unclear what prompted the traffic stop or what happened in the moments before the deputy was injured, according to KABC, but authorities did confirm that the driver fled the scene after the crash.
A description of the suspect and their vehicle has not yet been made available, but investigators have said that they are looking for possible surveillance video to help them find the driver.
The deputy involved in the incident has not yet been identified and her current condition is unknown. The investigation is ongoing.