Heat alert issued for more than 7 million residents of California
The heat alert was issued for more than 7 million residents in an area of California. Monsoon rains could also cause flooding in the west.
- A heat alert has been issued in California.
- The heat alert was issued for more than 7 million residents in an area of California.
- Meanwhile, another part of the US is facing monsoon rains that could cause flooding.
Take necessary precautions. In several locations in the western and central United States, suffocating heat was expected on Sunday. However, in California the heat alert was issued for more than 7 million residents as of Tuesday, August 16, according to ABC News & CBS News.
Experts estimated triple-digit temperatures in states like California, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. And California’s central valley region is bracing for a week of scorching conditions as temperatures are forecast to reach 105 degrees or higher Tuesday through Friday, prompting an excessive heat watch to be issued for more than 7 million residents, according to ABC News.
Excessive heat alert for millions in California
The heat will have an aggravating effect on the mega-drought that has been plaguing the region for decades, creating more breeding ground for forest fires to break out. The National Weather Service said Sunday that temperatures are estimated to be above normal in the Central Plains.
The CBS News report detailed that the excessive heat alert for 7 million people has been launched for areas of the Central Valley of California, including Redding, Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield, where, according to its forecast, the thermometer will reach triple digits from Tuesday through at least Thursday.
While some are under heat alert, others face monsoon rains
Other regions of the western United States were also dealing with the extreme weather, but in this case due to torrential rains. Monsoon rains were forecast to continue over the deserts of the Southwest and into the Rocky Mountains, with chances for flash flooding in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming on Sunday.
A flood watch was in effect for more than 8 million Americans from Phoenix and Las Vegas to Wyoming as that constant flow of moisture led to torrential rain.
Drought and risk of flash floods
But given the extreme drought in much of the region and how dry is, it wouldn’t take much precipitation to create a flash flood scenario, officials said. The flash floods that have broken out in the region through at least Sunday have been huge and even deadly.
Another low pressure system with tropical characteristics was headed toward Texas from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing 6 to 10 inches of rain in places near Corpus Christi, Texas. But, drought-affected areas could also quickly flood due to dry soil, ABC News reported.
There is also a flood alert
CBS News reported on Sunday that a flood warning was issued from Arizona to Wyoming and covered more than 7 million people, so rain and thunderstorms were expected for the afternoon and evening yesterday in much of the southwestern United States.
The flood watch included Las Vegas, where two people died last week in what has become the wettest monsoon season in a decade. Additionally, CBS News added, the flood threat is forecast to remain Monday through Tuesday, but will include a smaller area surrounding the Four Corners region, where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico meet.
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