The US National Weather Service early Tuesday forecast intensification of dangerous, record-breaking heat across a majority of central and eastern US this week, with heat expected to persist through the Independence Day holiday weekend in the eastern US.
The heat value indices are expected to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the agency said.
Meanwhile, portions of the Four Corners and Great Basin are expected to experience critical fire weather conditions on Tuesday due to the presence of dry conditions and gusty winds.
The NWS early Tuesday issued a red flag warning for Utah's Bluff, Blanding, Moab, Monticello, Vernal, Green River, Price, Capitol Reef National Park, and areas near Escalante. These places primarily fall under the service area of PacifiCorp's Rocky Mountain Power.
A similar warning was raised for Colorado's Craig, Rangely, Meeker, Rifle, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Grand Junction, Aspen, Montrose, Gunnison, Nucla, Buena Vista, Cortez, Durango, Lake City, Alamosa, Telluride, Kremmling, Leadville, Creede, Wolf Creek Pass, Saguache, South Fork, Salida, San Luis, Trinidad, Kim, La Junta, Pikes Peak, Canon City, Colorado Springs, Saguache, Granby, Georgetown, Ordway, Fairplay, and parts of Boulder, Fort Collins, and Castle Rock. An immediate evacuation notice was issued for West Cliff and Pueblo.
Xcel Energy (XEL) and Black Hills (BKH) unit Black Hills Energy are the primary electricity service providers in Colorado.
Also covered under a red flag warning watch were Arizona's Winslow, Show Low, St. Johns, parts of Chinle, and areas near Flagstaff and Grand Canyon Village, primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company.
Affected areas in Nebraska include Harrison, Chadron, Scottsbluff, Bridgeport, Alliance, Harrisburg, Kimball, and Sidney. A major part of the state is covered under the service area of regional transmission organization Southwest Power Pool, with Midcontinent ISO also serving some areas.
A red flag warning was also issued for Wyoming's Glenrock, Bill, Lusk, Lance Creek, Glendo, Douglas, Torrington, Wheatland, Chugwater, Cheyenne, and Newcastle, which primarily fall under the service area of Rocky Mountain Power.
The NWS issued extreme heat warning for the entirety of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois.
The Ohio-based subsidiaries of American Electric Power (AEP) and AES (AES), FirstEnergy (FE) units Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, and The Illuminating Company, and Duke Energy (DUK) are among the major service providers in Ohio. Indiana is primarily served by Duke Energy, AEP subsidiary Indiana Michigan Power, NiSource (NI) unit Northern Indiana Public Service Company, AES unit AES Indiana, and CenterPoint Energy (CNP).
Ameren's (AEE) Illinois unit and Exelon (EXC) subsidiary ComEd are among the major service providers in Illinois, while Kentucky is primarily served by PPL (PPL) subsidiary Louisville Gas and Electric & Kentucky Utilities, AEP unit Kentucky Power, and Duke Energy among others.
Most of Iowa, except for Storm Lake, Sioux City, and parts of Estherville, primarily served by Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy (LNT), were also covered under an extreme heat warning watch.
A large part of Wisconsin, except for Rice Lake, Eau Claire, Rhinelander, Park Falls, and Hayward, were also placed under a similar warning. WEC Energy Group's (WEC) Wisconsin Public Service, Xcel Energy, and Alliant Energy are among the major service providers in Wisconsin.
Affected areas in Missouri include Rockport, Grant City, Maryville, Bethany Trenton, Kirksville, St. Joseph, Plattsburg, Chillicothe, Carrollton, Moberly, Macon, Boonville, Sedalia, Clinton, Buttler, Harrisonville, Warrensburg, Kansas City, Columbia, Jefferson City, Centerville, Poplar Bluff, Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, and St. Louis. Evergy (EVRG), Ameren's Missouri unit, and Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) subsidiary Liberty are the major service providers in Missouri.
In Kansas, where Evergy is among the major service providers, an extreme heat warning was issued for Topeka, Ottawa, Paola, Iola, Olathe, Leavenworth, Atchison, Concordia, Manhattan, and Emporia.
An extreme heat warning was also raised for Michigan's Ludington, Holland, Pentwater, Kalamazoo, Big Rapids, Clare, Mount Pleasant, Muskegon, Alma, Ionia, Grand Rapids, Flint, Hastings, South Haven, Lansing, Jackson, Benton Harbour, Cold Water, Ann Harbour, Bad Axe, Saginaw, Detroit, and Port Huron. CMS Energy (CMS) unit Consumers Energy, and DTE Energy (DTE) are among the major service providers in these places.
An extreme heat warning was also raised for a majority of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachussets and Tennessee, large parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and portions of New York.
Meanwhile, flood warning were issued for parts of Montana, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi.