Heatwave and Wildfire Threats Loom Over Much of the U. S. This Weekend

A big part of America will face scary heat and fire danger over the next few days. Weather officials have warned that more than 47 million people from the Great Plains to the Southeast should be careful. Strong winds, between 30 and 60 miles per hour, will hit the Plains. With little moisture in the air and dry plants, fires could start quickly and spread fast. The same wind and dryness will touch the Gulf Coast and move inland across places like Lake Charles, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Tallahassee, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; and Asheville, North Carolina. Those cities need to stay alert. In other parts of the country, temperatures will swing. The Midwest and Northeast saw a cool break after hot spring days earlier in the week. Cities such as Chicago and New York City will feel cooler on Saturday, but by Monday they could reach normal summer highs again. Some areas may see 10 to 20 degrees less heat than they had on Friday, after record highs earlier in the week.The last day of March brought more record temperatures. Savannah, Georgia hit 89 degrees and Columbia, South Carolina reached 88. Phoenix climbed to 102 degrees, Death Valley hit 101, and Tucson was at 98. This weekend could see new highs for Las Vegas and Phoenix again. From March 15 to March 26, the country broke or tied over 100 monthly records and 700 daily records. Since March 1, more than 1, 100 daily records have been set or matched nationwide. The pattern shift expected at the start of April will bring warmer than normal weather to the east and near-normal temperatures to the west. However, the Southeast will keep pushing record heat with no break this weekend.