Millions Under Heat Warnings as U.S. Breaks Records

Millions of Americans continued to face heat warnings on Wednesday following several days of record-setting temperatures, though meteorologists predict the intense conditions will ease soon.

This week, residents across the East Coast and various other parts of the U.S. have endured extreme heat due to a “heat dome”—a weather phenomenon where a high-pressure system traps heat and moisture over a large area.

On Monday, nearly 40 cities experienced record-breaking temperatures. Among them, Philadelphia hit 99°F, Baltimore reached a sweltering 104°F, and Raleigh, North Carolina, recorded 100°F. The heat persisted into Tuesday, with Boston and New York also seeing triple-digit temperatures. John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York hit 100°F for the first time in over a decade—since 2013.

By Wednesday, temperatures remained dangerously high, ranging from the 90s to just above 100°F. According to The Washington Post, around 125 million people from the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast were under some type of heat-related alert.

Areas particularly hard-hit include parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina—all of which were under heat warnings issued by the National Weather Service for “extremely dangerous” temperatures. The entire state of Delaware, along with a small region in northeastern Kentucky, was also under heat warnings. Other states along the Mississippi River, the Deep South, and New England were under heat advisories, which signal serious—though slightly less hazardous—conditions.

The National Weather Service expects the heat dome to weaken by Thursday.

CBS News forecasts a significant drop in temperatures for some of the hardest-hit cities. Boston, for example, is expected to cool from the low 90s today to a high of just 71°F tomorrow. New York, currently experiencing highs around 92°F, will see a drop into the upper 70s. Raleigh will experience more modest relief, decreasing from today’s 101°F to 96°F tomorrow.

The recent heatwave has raised concerns about public safety and health. On Monday, an Amtrak train became stranded in a tunnel in Baltimore for over an hour without power or air conditioning, leaving passengers in uncomfortable conditions, according to FOX 5 DC.

Also on Monday, two teenage hikers in New Hampshire had to be rescued from a mountain in Jaffrey after becoming overwhelmed by the heat, state wildlife officials reported.