:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:National Weather Service]
Temperatures will be generally 100 to 105 degrees Thursday and Friday. The mid-Atlantic is running 10 to 15 degrees above normal. This is a life-threatening heat event.


:COUNTER
175 million Americans under major or extreme heat risk

:INFO
What is a heat dome?
A heat dome forms when a high-pressure system stalls over a region and traps hot air beneath it like a lid on a pot. The trapped air sinks, compresses, and heats further. This one parked over the central United States in late June 2026 and expanded east in time for the Fourth of July holiday, when cooling centers and emergency rooms began filling up from the Midwest to New England.


:MAP
38.9,-77,Washington DC. High of 103F, record broken
39.9,-75.1,Philadelphia. 103F, ties 1901 record
40.7,-74,New York City. Central Park hit 100F, first in 14 years
42.3,-71,Boston. Upper 90s, heat index above 105F
37.5,-77.4,Richmond VA. Three consecutive days above 100F
35.2,-80.8,Charlotte NC. Extreme heat advisory in effect
35.4,-80.6,Raleigh NC. Cooling centers opened across the city
39.1,-77,Baltimore. Overnight lows above 80F, no recovery

:STATS

:NOTE
Nights are the hidden danger. Urban areas are struggling to drop below 80F overnight, giving bodies no chance to recover before the next day of extreme heat. The body needs cooler nights to repair heat stress; without them, risk of heat stroke compounds each day.


:NOTE
More than 200,000 customers lost power Thursday evening as air-conditioning demand strained the grid. The Department of Energy issued emergency orders to increase generation on the PJM Interconnection, which covers the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest.


:NOTE.half
Stay hydrated before you feel thirsty. By the time thirst kicks in, the body is already behind on fluids in this kind of heat.
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:NOTE.half
Check on elderly neighbours and anyone without air conditioning. Heat kills more Americans each year than any other weather hazard, and most deaths are preventable.


:LINK
https://www.nws.noaa.gov/
National Weather Service: live heat alerts and cooling center locator