Many parts of Texas are currently experiencing the hottest part of this summer, with some areas reporting record temperatures.
Excessive heat warnings have been issued for some towns and cities, including for Abilene, which hit a record high of 113 degrees on Aug. 21. The city lies just under 200 miles west of Houston.
Del Rio and San Angelo experienced their hottest month in August, with 112 and 111 degrees, respectively. Excessive heat warnings were issued for both cities. The region’s weather is set to continue on this trajectory as the weekend approaches.
“Del Rio reached 112 deg F today breaking the record high for this date. This also tied for the 3rd hottest temperature of any date on record for Del Rio! (hottest 115 in 2023),” the National Weather Service posted on X.
Wichita Falls, Waco, San Antonio, and Austin are also under excessive heat warnings, and other areas in the state are under heat advisories, including Dallas, Houston, Amarillo, and Brownsville. Advisories also reach out of the state into parts of Oklahoma and New Mexico, with recorded temperatures of between 100 and 110 degrees.
Other cities also recorded monthly highs, including Sonora, which saw 109 degrees, and Kingsville, which recorded 108 degrees.
While the power grid is under extreme pressure to keep up with record demand, widespread outages have been avoided thus far, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas said.
The roasting temperatures are set to continue into Aug. 23 before dropping slightly over the weekend. Extreme heat is forecast to move towards the southeast of the United States next week.
While Texas and some other states in the southern and central United States have been experiencing excessive heat, this was contrasted by cooler-than-average temperatures in other parts of the U.S.
Record lows have been recorded in some Midwestern areas, including the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, with a low of 49 degrees recorded at Washington Dulles International Airport on Aug. 22.
Near-freezing lows were also recorded in other parts of Washington. California and Nevada are also seeing plummeting temperatures after record heat in June and July. Snow is forecast for some high elevations in California and the Pacific Northwest, including Mt. Shasta, which could see around a foot of snow.