Heat wave sparks major storms, power outages in southeastern U.S., raises concern over wildfires in Southwest
A suspected tornado struck Sunday morning near Scranton, Arkansas, destroying chicken coops and knocking down trees on homes, the National Weather Service said.
Weather USA: Triple-digit temperatures on Sunday boosted heat advisories across much of the southern U.S., spawned severe thunderstorms that knocked out hundreds of thousands of people from Oklahoma to Mississippi and produced gusty winds that created wildfire threats in Arizona and New Mexico.
A suspected tornado struck Sunday morning near Scranton, Arkansas, destroying chicken coops and knocking down trees on homes, the National Weather Service said. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency for northern and central Louisiana after strong winds and severe weather caused widespread power outages on Saturday. More than 740,000 people were without power in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi on Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us.
The National Weather Service warned that potentially record-breaking temperatures would persist over South Texas and the western and central Gulf Coast and that storms bringing damaging winds, hail and possibly tornadoes could hit the lower Mississippi Valley.
In Florida, the weather service issued another heat advisory on Sunday, this time mainly for the Florida Keys. Forecasters said heat index readings — the combination of high temperatures and oppressive humidity — could reach between 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius) and 112 degrees (45 degrees Celsius) in places like Key Largo, Marathon and Key West.
“These conditions will create an increased risk of heat illness for people outdoors or in areas without air conditioning,” the weather service said in a bulletin.
In the Southwest, where fire crews are battling multiple wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico, forecasters said triple-digit temperatures and gusty winds would lead to critical fires in the coming days. Sunday promised to be the hottest day of the year so far in Arizona, with highs reaching 110 degrees (43.5 C) in Phoenix.
Wind gusts were forecast at 30 mph to 40 mph (48-64 kph) on Sunday east of Flagstaff, Arizona along the Interstate 40 corridor and up to 50 mph (80 kph) on Monday, potentially creating critical fire weather in much of northeastern New Mexico.
A large wildfire that broke out south of Tucson, Arizona Friday afternoon, closed a state highway on Saturday. Arizona 83 reopened Sunday and no homes were in immediate danger, authorities said.
Much of Nevada was under a high wind advisory with gusts of up to 55 mph (88 kph) with blowing dust that could obscure visibility on highways, the weather service said.