00:00Joining me right now is AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist John Porter.
00:03John, we've got a major heat wave building, and for some, this is a type of heat wave that we
00:09don't see every year or every two years.
00:12That's correct. This is going to be a particularly intense heat wave over a large part of the central and
00:17eastern United States,
00:18and it would be a concern anyway, but our concerns are elevated because it's a time period when many people
00:24are going to be outside
00:25enjoying all the festivities associated with America's 250th birthday, and in a lot of spots, that's going to mean a
00:32high risk for heat illness.
00:34And, Jeff, heat illness can catch people off guard sometimes by how quickly those serious conditions can set in,
00:41and heat also aggravates many other medical conditions.
00:44So the 4th of July week furnace is a big concern here from a health and safety perspective across much
00:51of the central and eastern part of the United States.
00:53This is a huge chunk of the nation. It may be a little cool in the west, but, man, the
00:57populated areas that are in the central and eastern U.S.,
01:00the Midwest, all the way to the south, currently under this big heat dome.
01:04And, John, how does this evolve as we get into the second half of the work week?
01:07As we go day by day, the heat begins to build, and it's not just the heat, but it's the
01:12humidity as well.
01:13And also another factor with this heat wave, as is the case with many of the intense heat waves over
01:19recent decades,
01:20there's little relief at night. So if you look at a place like New York City, the temperature is not
01:25going to fall below 80 degrees.
01:27That means that it's uncomfortable, miserable, and in some cases flat-out dangerous for people without air conditioning overnight
01:34because there's little relief at night, little recovery time, and that builds the heat stress on people, Jeff,
01:41day by day, becoming worse as the heat wave progresses.
01:45And as we look ahead to Thursday, this is when we really begin to escalate the heat along I-95.
01:52Actual air temps versus the AccuWeather Real Fuels, how do they contrast?
01:56Well, remember, the AccuWeather Real Fuel Temperature is a unique product that's available on AccuWeather.com for free
02:02and on the free AccuWeather app. It's the best representation of how the air feels,
02:08and it helps you to make the best plans and optimize your health, safety, and comfort.
02:12And look at this with the air temperatures on Thursday along the I-95 corridor from Boston, New York City,
02:18into Washington,
02:19upper 90s to lower 100s.
02:22Watch what happens when we move this to the AccuWeather Real Fuel Temperature,
02:25which includes a dozen different factors to arrive at that number.
02:30112 in Washington, 109 in New York, 103 Boston.
02:34This is dangerous heat any way you slice it.
02:39And when you add on to that the fact that we're going to have many people outside,
02:43that's why we're really concerned about the risk for many people succumbing to heat-related illnesses.
02:48It's going to be incredibly important to stay well hydrated and take frequent breaks in the shade
02:54and air conditioning when you can if you're going to be at any of these great outdoor events here
02:59or if you're traveling to the Northeast and people working outside as well,
03:03especially college and high school students that might be working outside
03:07and an outside job during the summer to make some extra money.
03:10Very important.
03:11You could be at a special risk for heat-related illness
03:15because your body may not be as used to working outside in those conditions.
03:19Now, John, at AccuWeather, beyond the AccuWeather Real Field Temperature,
03:22we also have a way of quantifying numerically the intensity, the duration, and the longevity here of heat waves.
03:31So how does this AccuWeather Heat Wave Severity Index operate from a longevity and intensity standpoint?
03:38Right. That's the key point.
03:39This is another AccuWeather unique innovation that we've developed and launched in recent years
03:44so that people can be best informed as it relates to extreme heat
03:48since that is the number one killer from a weather-related risk perspective.
03:52Across the country, year over year, more people tragically lose their life in heat waves
03:56than they do from other types of severe weather events.
04:00And those numbers themselves tend to be undercounted
04:03because heat can be a factor lots of times in other illnesses
04:07as it relates to compounding those medical conditions.
04:12So let's look at Chicago, for example.
04:14And you could get these updated frequently for several cities on stories that we have
04:18on the AccuWeather.com website and the AccuWeather app as well.
04:22And notice the heat wave counter and severity index, the heat wave severity index is a 15 in this heat
04:29wave.
04:29It's the first heat wave of the year in Chicago.
04:31And look at the last two years.
04:33It's going to be the most intense by far of the last two years in Chicago.
04:38So the ability to showcase that this is a strong heat wave and to put it into context,
04:43that's what's so special about this tool.
04:45It's far more than just saying it's going to be hot.
04:48We put it into context with how it compares to other heat waves over history.
04:53And Philadelphia here, 24 units exceeding anything from last year.
04:57And again, we've had six heat waves last year,
05:00but this is going to be worse than any of them June 30th through July 5th.
05:04Now, John, I wanted to preserve some time for New York City here because we want to give this some,
05:09how does this land on the pecking order among the past 26 years?
05:12Well, we took a look at the historical context here.
05:15First of all, this is going to be a 17 on the AccuWeather heat wave severity index.
05:19It's the first heat wave of the year in New York City as well.
05:23And we can take a look at the heat waves in New York City since 2000.
05:27So going back to 2000 here, notice that the most intense had an AccuWeather heat wave severity index of 23.
05:37That's back from 2001 and down to the most, this other event in 2013,
05:45certainly which was also a very intense heat wave.
05:48But look at where this heat wave is going to stack.
05:50It would be number six here since 2000.
05:53So that showcases the historical context of this.
05:57This is an impressive and dangerous heat wave in New York City and beyond.
06:01By the way, I want to point out that the most intense heat wave in our records in New York
06:05City,
06:05you have to go back to August into early September 1953,
06:09where we had an AccuWeather heat wave severity index number of 36.
06:14So that puts all these heat waves into some context.
06:18Very important for people to be prepared.
06:20Very good intel.
06:20AccuWeather chief meteorologist John Porter, thanks for giving us a little context
06:24about the nature of this week's heat.
06:26We'll wrap it up to July 4th.
06:28We've had some nasty storms barrel through parts of Minnesota.
06:31Still severe weather returning to this area later on this evening.
06:35And tonight, storms firing in northern parts of the Dakotas.
06:38Damaging winds have been the biggest issue in this area.
06:41Stay with us here on the AccuWeather Network.
06:42Stay with us on the AccuWeather Network.
06:42Stay with us on the AccuWeather Network.
06:42So far, the
06:42including imposes this country with Natasha Keifer Network is very popularly.
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