19 dead in US state of New Jersey from record-breaking July 4 holiday weekend heat
At least 19 people have died in New Jersey from the sweltering, multi-day heat wave that has enveloped a large portion of the country leading up to and over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, officials said.
New Jersey officials said at a news conference that the deaths were caused by the heat dome that had settled above parts of the central and eastern United States.
“Unfortunately, many of these individuals were found in homes without air conditioning,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard Washington told reporters at the news conference on Saturday. “A few were outside their residences, some on the street and some even in parked cars.”
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said that thunderstorms on Friday night and over the weekend across the state knocked out power to nearly 300,000 utility customers and that wind gusts of up to 80 mph toppled trees and power lines.
New Jersey officials said they began seeing what they believe are heat-related deaths as early as Thursday, with most occurring in the central and northern parts of the state.
Over the past several days, New Jersey and states along the Eastern Seaboard have experienced extreme heat with temperatures in the high 90s to triple digits.
“The heat’s hitting all of us, not just seniors, not just with underlying health conditions, people of all ages,” said Sherrill.
“Extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer in America, and this is the hottest stretch we’ve seen in over 14 years,” Sherrill added.
In Illinois, one weather-related death was reported in Fox Township, according to the Kendall County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to a Fox Township RV park around 3:12 p.m. local time after wind gust toppled a tree onto a camper trailer, killing a 47-year-old woman inside, according to the sheriff’s office.
Lingering widespread heat is expected to trigger another round of severe weather and possible flash flooding in parts of the mid-Atlantic and South on Sunday following a Fourth of July that saw record-breaking temperatures capped by thunderstorms and damaging winds.
A level 2 of 5 “slight risk” of severe weather – including isolated small hail, lightning and flash flooding – are possible on Sunday afternoon from Charlottesville, Virginia, up into north-central New Jersey, including the cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
The storms are expected to intensify sometime after 2 p.m. and continue into the late evening.
The high temperature in Philadelphia on Sunday is expected to be in the low 90s and in the mid-90s in the nation’s capital as the Fourth of July weekend wraps up.
Heat advisories remain in effect on Sunday along the East Coast from Jacksonville, Florida, up to Philadelphia as heat indexes, or “feels-like” temperatures, are expected to climb into triple digits. The cities of Macon, Georgia, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas, are also under heat advisories on Sunday.
Much of the South will remain hot and humid through the start of the work week. However, the heat will transition from extreme in some areas to more typical summer conditions across the region
In the Northeast, a multiple-day heatwave is expected to break on Sunday, with temperatures from New York City to Boston expected to be 10 to 15 degrees cooler than on the holiday.
The high temperature in New York City on Sunday is expected to be in the upper 80s, while Boston is forecast to only reach the 70s.
On Saturday, severe storms provided their own light show for millions on the Fourth of July, with some severe storms impacting fireworks displays and prompting the cancellation of several outdoor festivities.
In Washington, D.C., severe weather, including lightning, led authorities to evacuate the National Mall ahead of President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July speech. Attendees were told to shelter in nearby government buildings and the celebration was delayed by a few hours before going on as scheduled.
The stormy weather rolled in after several major cities on the East Coast reported experiencing the hottest Fourth of July holiday on record, with at least a dozen cities appearing to break or tie daily high temperature marks Saturday. Preliminary data showed Atlantic City was the hottest city on the East Coast, hitting 106 degrees.
Both Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, North Carolina, climbed to 103 degrees. Baltimore and Salisbury, Maryland, and Wilmington, Delaware, all reached 102 on Saturday.
Charlotte and Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Norfolk, Virginia, all topped 100 degrees on Saturday, setting new records, according to preliminary data.
Richmond, Virginia, also hit 100 degrees on Saturday, tying a daily record, according to preliminary data. Roanoke, Virginia, which reached 99 on Saturday, and Greensboro, North Carolina, which hit 98, also tied records.
The hot, humid Independence Day weather gave way to blustery, rainy weather on Saturday afternoon and into the evening. More than 500 incidents of wind damage were reported across the Plains and Midwest as well as parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
- ABC NEWS
