The Fourth of July holiday is set to bring record-breaking temperatures of 120 degrees - just before storms are due to hit the US.
Temperatures will be broken in California for multiple days this week and look set to stay in triple digits as hot and humid weather will see a whopping 110 degrees on the west coast. Similar temperatures are expected for Arizona and Nevada, with Palm Springs set to reach 115 to 120 degrees, along with Las Vegas and Phoenix.
According to the National Weather Service, the nation's southern states will experience extremely hot and sticky weather throughout the week. Yesterday, there was an excessive heat warning issued for the Lower Mississippi River Valley, where the heat index, which is what the temperature feels like to the human body when humidity is combined with the air temperature, could reach up to 118 degrees.
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New Orleans also faces a heat index of up to 118 on Monday. Multiple health advisories have been issued and are in effect for much of the East Coast, with North and South Carolina expected to feel like 110 on Monday and Virginia will feel like 108.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia and central New Jersey, the heat index will be around 103 on Sunday. "It's going to be downright hot across the Southwest, especially in California and the Desert Southwest where record highs will be challenged," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joseph Bauer. After the extreme temperatures up and down the East Coast, more than 60 million people are expected to be in the storm zone from Sunday afternoon, which is expected to form hot and humid conditions.
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The strongest storms are predicted around 2pm and 11pm on Sunday. It comes as millions of Americans are preparing to get out of town sometime in the coming holiday week. That will likely mean busy roads, as well as packed airports and train stations.
Motor club AAA projects that some 70.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from their homes over a nine-day Independence Day travel period — surpassing pre-pandemic numbers for the US holiday. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen over 32 million individuals in airports from this Thursday through July 8, up 5.4% from last year’s numbers.
If you’re traveling by car for the Fourth of July, it’s best to hit the road in the morning, according to transportation data and insights provider INRIX. Peak traffic congestion varies by location, INRIX data published by AAA shows, but the worst times to drive on, or leading up to, the holiday are generally between 2pm and 7pm Either way, be prepared for the roads to be jammed.
“Road trips over the holiday week could take up to 67% longer than normal,” Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, said in a prepared statement. July Fourth falls on a Thursday this year, and many travelers will likely take Friday, July 5th off to extend their trip into a four-day weekend. Drivers in large metro areas can expect the biggest delays on Wednesday, July 3 and Sunday, July 7 — as travelers leave and return to town, Mr Pishue added.
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