Several cities are under extreme heat warnings as high temperatures and humidity grip parts of the country

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued several extreme heat warnings and advisories as a dangerous and prolonged wave of high temperatures and humidity blankets much of the central and eastern US, with the worst conditions expected to persist into the middle of this week.

Several locations recorded their hottest temperatures of the year over the weekend: Salt Lake City, Utah, hit 104F (40C) on Thursday, its first triple-digit reading of 2025, and on Saturday the city of Mitchell in South Dakota also reached 104F, surpassing its previous daily record of 101F (38.3C). Daily high records were broken in parts of Minnesota, Wyoming and Michigan.

Cities under active heat alerts include Chicago, Kansas City, St Louis, Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York City. The NWS classified some of its warnings as “extreme heat” alerts, its highest level, due to the severity of the conditions.

Some cities – including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington – could approach or surpass 100F (37.8C) during the peak of the heatwave. New York’s Central Park hasn’t reached that level since 18 July 2012, the NWS said, while Philadelphia last hit it in June 1994.