NEW YORK: The heat that blanketed much of the US and left at least 46 people dead will begin easing up this week as temperatures approach normal from the Midwest to the East Coast.
Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Maryland said Sunday night that a cold front through the South and the mid-Atlantic will bring thunderstorms and showers.
It "will break the heat wave we've had," he said, dropping temperatures there to a more normal range of mid- to upper-80s. The Southeast and Tennessee Valley will be in the low 90s Fahrenheit (30s Celsius), "still fairly warm," Orrison said, but not as hot as it has been. The Midwest can expect cooler weather, as well, with temperatures in the 80s Fahrenheit.
The cooler air began sweeping southward Sunday in the eastern half of the country, bringing down some temperatures by 15 or more degrees from Saturday's highs, which topped 100 degrees (37.78 Celsius) in cities including Philadelphia, Washington, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky. The heat of the past several days has been blamed for at least 46 deaths across the country.
In Chicago, the county medical examiner's office determined Sunday that eight more people died from heat-related causes, adding to the 10 deaths previously confirmed Saturday.
Meanwhile, the withering US corn crop is gaining some respite from a record heat wave this week. The crop urgently needs rain to avoid the worst drought damage in nearly a quarter century. As the majority of a near-record-size US corn area is now set to enter the key phase of pollination, a period when hot and dry conditions can cause irrevocable damage, the lack of moisture threatens to extend a rally that has already propelled corn prices more than a third higher since mid-June. "It is dry across much of the Midwest and Plains and there is no relief in sight," said Alan Reppert, senior meteorologist. He said the most affected areas were from Iowa to Illinois, the heart of the Corn Belt.
Rain, thunderstorms to ease heat wave across US
