As Tropical Storm Bertha churns in the Gulf of Mexico, meteorologists say it isn’t the only weather threat the Southeast will face this week. A dangerous heatwave is expanding across the region, bringing triple-digit temperatures and humidity that could persist through the weekend. On Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service’s (NWS) map of public alerts displayed heat-related advisories for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as a tropical storm warning stretching from Louisiana to Florida. In areas under heat advisories, sweltering conditions will settle in today. High temperatures and choking humidity could push feels-like temperatures to 105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (41 to 46 degrees Celsius) in some locations, with record-warm overnight lows of 75 to 80 degrees F (24 to 27 degrees C), according to the NWS.
Temperatures that high can be dangerous, especially when there is prolonged exposure. With the arrival of Tropical Storm Bertha, Gulf Coast residents run the risk of power outages, which could leave them temporarily without air conditioning amid this brutal heatwave. Here’s what you need to know.
