More than 100 daily high temperature records are expected through Sunday, forecasts show
High temperatures are expected to continue baking large sections of the U.S. through the end of the week, potentially setting more than 100 new daily temperature records between Thursday and Sunday, forecasts show.
More than 50 of those possible record highs may be seen on Thursday alone, as a massive heat wave expands further into the western two-thirds of the country, said CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan. Temperatures were forecast to linger around 30 or 40 degrees above average in a number of southwestern and central states, continuing a trend that began earlier in the week and has already brought unprecedented heat to the region.
Some of the records anticipated for Thursday could be set in major cities and metropolitan areas like Dallas, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Louisville, Nashville and Phoenix, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Digital Forecast Database.
The hottest conditions were expected in Phoenix, where temperatures could reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, potentially breaking a 40-year-old record and continuing a string of triple-digit days that may not be letting up just yet. This would be the Arizona capital's second consecutive daily temperature record after it broke one on Wednesday when temperatures also hit 100 degrees.
In Dallas, temperatures could climb to 89 degrees, surpassing a daily record set in 2018. In Amarillo, Texas, they could soar to 99, which would top a 2020 record for the date by 11 degrees, said Nolan. Albuquerque could see an 88-degree day, a high for the day not seen since 1971.
Temperatures in El Paso, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Memphis, Nashville, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Tulsa and Wichita were all forecast to potentially break daily records with possible high temperatures of more than 90 degrees.
The latest wave of potential record highs follows records set in more than a dozen states on Wednesday, when many cities hit 90 degrees or higher. In Denver, it was the hottest March day ever recorded.
The heat wave that initially brought unusual warmth to the West last week has been slowly moving eastward, with forecasts indicating it would arrive on the southeastern coast by Friday. Along the way, it may fuel a series of potentially severe storms across parts of the Midwest.