At Least 25 Deaths Blamed on Fourth of July Heat Wave

The mercury is finally throttling down after the extended heat wave. Now that the extreme heat has lifted, the true toll of this weather event is coming into focus. Dozens of deaths have been blamed on the heat wave that encompassed much of the central and eastern U.S. over the last several days. Here is the latest on the deadly heat wave.

Dozens of Fatalities Blamed on the Extreme Heat

Over 20 states saw temperatures hit the triple digits during the course of the heat wave that began early last week and persisted into the holiday weekend. The temperatures began to come down late last week in the Midwest, while the Northeast saw the heat linger into Sunday.

More than 131 million Americans saw temperatures of 90 degrees or higher on Sunday, while over 10 million people saw the mercury eclipse the century mark. Over 140 million Americans were under heat alerts as the weekend came to a close.

The good news is that significantly cooler air is coming down from Canada as the heat dome collapses and fades away.  For instance, temperatures will top out in the mid 70s on Monday and Tuesday in New York City.

The extreme heat came at a great cost. New Jersey officials have confirmed that at least 25 deaths across 10 counties are being blamed on the hot weather last week. The majority of these fatalities are being reported in the central and northern portions of the state. While the numbers from other states are still coming in, New Jersey has reported the most heat-related deaths. In total, at least 28 heat-related deaths have been reported nationwide, with additional deaths confirmed in Hinds County, Mississippi, and Cook County, Illinois.

Many of the victims in New Jersey were found in homes without air conditioning. Some of the deaths happened in parked cars, according to Dr. Raynard Washington, the commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Health.

Dalya Ewais, director of communications for the New Jersey health department, also said that the ages of the victims range from the mid 30s to the 80s. However, she said that this data is preliminary and could change.

New Jersey was not the only state reporting deaths at the hands of the heat. A 74-year-old man from Jackson, Mississippi, was found behind a gas station on July 2, after being reported missing days earlier. The man died en route to the hospital. Local officials said that the man had been exposed to the extreme temperatures over a period of several days. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the heat index was well over 100 degrees during this time.

Although not all of the data has been confirmed, at least 120 preliminary new high temperature records have been set since Tuesday.  Newark International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey reached 105 degrees for the first time since 2001 on Thursday. Nearby LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City saw a top reading of 102 degrees on the same day, breaking the daily record high of 101 degrees dating back to 1966.

Philadelphia notched its fourth-warmest day on record on Thursday with a high of 103 degrees. This reading also tied the daily record from 1901.

The sizzling conditions spread farther south as the week progressed. Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, saw a reading of 103 degrees on the Fourth of July. The 103°F reading set a new daily record high for July 4 in the nation's capital.

Hazardous Conditions Altered Fourth of July Plans for Millions

The dangerous conditions forced many local officials to cancel Fourth of July festivities throughout the weekend. For example, after first deciding to shorten the duration of the Philadelphia parade, event organizers ended up canceling it completely because of the heat. The decision to cancel the parade in the City of Brotherly Love came after dozens of people were hospitalized with symptoms of heat illnesses at a train event in Pennsylvania.

Before the evening program began, severe weather including lightning forced authorities to evacuate the National Mall entirely. Attendees were directed to shelter in nearby government buildings, and the celebration was delayed by several hours before proceeding as scheduled.

The heat also disrupted the festivities in the nation's capital over the holiday weekend. Heat indices soared to over 110 degrees during President Donald Trump's Salute to America event on the National Mall on Saturday. The National Special Security Event Joint Information Center released a statement on July 5 detailing that emergency service personnel at the event treated 96 people. Of this number, 40 were transported from the National Mall for treatment.

By the time that the fireworks finale began at 10 pm, the hospital at George Washington University had reported 289 patient contacts from the National Mall.

While not all of these transports were necessarily related to the heat, officials noted that it was a higher number than usual.

Although relief from the heat is quickly enveloping the eastern half of the U.S., the collapse of the heat dome is also ushering in a rash of severe storms. A large swath of land from Texas to Wisconsin is under the threat of severe storms through at least Tuesday.

As the East returns to more seasonable weather, a new heat dome is taking shape in a zone between the West Coast and the Rockies. Stay tuned for a more precise forecast in the days to come.

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