Excessive heat warnings remain in place in many areas across the U.S. and are expected to last at least through Monday.
In Arizona’s largest metro area, Phoenix and surrounding communities flirted with a high of 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsuis) on Sunday.
The National Weather Service in Phoenix is forecasting 116 degrees for Monday, just two degrees off the record high for that date set in 1907, before temperatures drop a few degrees for the next three days.
In Nevada, the first excessive heat warning of the summer runs through Monday evening for the Las Vegas metro area. Daytime cooling centers are open across the region.
It was 102 degrees Friday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, ending a 294-day stretch of temperatures staying below 100.
The high in central Las Vegas was near 112 degrees Sunday, with 113 predicted for Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
A heat wave baking much of interior California was expected to push the mercury past 105 degrees (40 Celsius) across the agricultural heart of the state.
A record of 111 degrees (44 Celsius) was marked Saturday in Paso Robles, surpassing a high of 107 (41 Celsius) set in 2013.
In Southern California, excessive heat warnings and advisories were extended through Monday for inland areas east of Los Angeles.
Elsewhere, the heat and severe weather remained a concern throughout the U.S. southeast.
Heat advisories remained in effect throughout the southeast Sunday while a severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 8 p.m. for parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee. Thunderstorm warnings were issued throughout the region on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities said 31 cows died in the northern Alabama town of Berlin during Saturday’s severe weather when lightning struck the tree they were hiding under.
The Associated Press
