Millions bake in US as heat prolongs misery, with little relief expected

The steamiest conditions on Friday were expected in parts of Ohio and Indiana, where heat indices were likely to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) and stay there for most of the day. But the Midwest wasn’t the only area that was baked, as heat warnings and advisories were issued for the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and some western states.

Idaho officials said two people in their 60s died from the heat — the state’s first heat-related deaths of the year. Health officials did not release additional information about the victims Friday, including where they died.

Millions of residents across the country had their lives disrupted by days of unusually high temperatures.

In Michigan, utility crews from several states were working feverishly Friday to restore power to thousands of customers in suburban Detroit, two days after severe storms knocked out power, leaving residents suffering amid a heat wave that it is expected to persist through Saturday.

About 12,000 homes and businesses were without power Friday afternoon in Oakland County, a suburban area north of Detroit that was hit hard by Wednesday night’s storms, which knocked out power to about 75,000 homes and businesses at their peak, said Brian Calka, DTE Energy’s vice president of distribution operations. .

Between 500 and 600 crew members from utilities in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois were working with about 1,000 DTE Energy utility workers and another 1,000 tree trimming contractors to restore power amid the heat. Calka said the utility’s goal is to restore power to all of its customers by late Friday or early Saturday.

Utility crews were working 16-hour shifts to restore power and were urged to deal with the heat by taking more breaks because they wear jeans, long-sleeved shirts, rubber gloves and hard hats, Calka said.

“They work in very, very difficult conditions,” he said.

Among Michigan residents feeling the heat is Jody DeRusha, whose home in Beverly Hills Village, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Detroit, lost power Wednesday night and was also hit by of a maple tree blown over by the strong wind that night. strong storm She lost everything in the fridge, including a large amount of frozen beef and some fresh halibut and walleye.

“We’ve lost power before and in the freezer if you don’t open it you’d have about 48 hours, but in this heat, no. In 24 hours the refrigerator was ready. Trash day is Monday, so I’ll empty it then,” DeRusha said Friday.

She and her daughter are armed with flashlights and have been sleeping in the basement of their home, which she said is 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the house, which is drafty and hovers around 80 F (27 C).

DeRusha, a contract logistics worker for a trucking company, said she spent time in her car to enjoy the air conditioning while also recharging her cell phone.

It was too hot for some people to kayak, at least during peak temperatures. Chad Brennan, who operates Sunrise Kayaking just outside of Columbus, Ohio, limited the groups to morning and evening trips, even though that meant turning away customers.

“If you’re doing something physical like paddling a kayak, even anything extremely strenuous on days like this, it’s pretty tiring,” he said Friday.

Sizzling daytime temperatures this month were 35 times more likely and 2.5 degrees F (1.4 degrees C) warmer due to warming from burning coal, oil and natural gas — in other words, the changes human-caused climate. That’s according to World Weather Attribution, a collection of scientists who conduct rapid climate attribution studies that have not been peer-reviewed.

The United States last year experienced the most heat waves since 1936, experts said. An Associated Press analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that excessive heat contributed to more than 2,300 deaths in the US, the most in 45 years of records.

Excessive heat wasn’t the only weather-related problem in some states.

Several tourist towns in northern Minnesota continued to be flooded after a deluge of rain earlier this week, closing major roads and leaving a costly trail of damage.

On Friday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz traveled to St. Louis, where people in one city paddled through flooded streets in small boats, and officials estimated the flooding caused at least $50 million in damage and caused more than $40 million in closures. paths.

At a news conference in Biwabik, Walz said he expected a presidential disaster declaration to be imminent, but the damage had not yet reached the necessary threshold. Walz encouraged people to track the damage, which could help the state secure federal assistance.

To the west, several South Dakota campers who had gathered to watch a now-cancelled race at Huset’s Speedway near Sioux Falls were rescued by boat Friday, Minnehaha County Chief Deputy Jeff Gromer said. No one was injured. Gromer warned against driving on gravel roads, flooded streets or past flood barricades.

With little relief expected in the coming days, several events have been postponed or rescheduled due to the extreme heat.

Among them was the Blazing Paddles Paddlefest on Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River, which was planned for Saturday. Organizers canceled the event due to temperatures expected to reach the mid-90s. Much of Ohio has been under heat warnings all week, though some relief was expected Sunday as temperatures drop to normal in the Great Lakes region.

Shipkowski reported from Toms River, NJ, Associated Press writers from around the country contributed, including Summer Ballentine, Lisa Baumann, Rick Callahan, Patrick Orsagos and John Seewer. Follow AP’s weather coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/weather