A day after the temperature there hit 46C (115F), tying a record set in 2007, the city in Nevada recorded 49C (120F) for the first time on Sunday.
In certain locations, temperatures are up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according to meteorologist Bryan Jackson of the National Weather Service (NWS).
We’re currently experiencing an extremely widespread heatwave, and it’s predicted to last into this week,” he stated.
One million people are under an excessive heat watch, which includes areas of eastern Oregon, northeastern Nevada, and southwest Idaho. Approximately 36 million people are under an excessive heat warning.
In addition, the NWS is issuing a wildfire risk alert due to a combination of hot, dry, and windy weather.
Joanna Robinson, a news weather producer, stated that more records are probably going to be broken.
According to her, the cause of the problem is an upper-level ridge that sits over the west of the United States and will maintain a blocked pattern while sinking air helps to raise the temperature and pressure near the surface.
“That will enable the region’s continued high heat to persist this week, probably breaking more records.
In sections of inland California, the heatwave will allow temperatures to reach the high 40s and potentially even the low 50s in Celsius.
The heat is predicted to move from California and Oregon toward Washington starting in the middle of the week.
