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NWS Warns of Thunderstorms, Heavy Rain in Mid-South; Persistent Heat in Southeast, Southwest US

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The US National Weather Service on Wednesday said it expects parts of the mid-Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley and parts of Arizona to experience severe thunderstorms and heavy rain.

Meanwhile, the South and Southeast US continue to face dangerous heat, with similar conditions building into the Southwest.

"Overnight lows will be so warm that, when combined with oppressive dew points, little-to-no relief from the scorching daytime highs will be available," the agency said.

The NWS issued an extreme heat warning for Arizona's Kingman, Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City, Parker, Yuma, Gila Bend, Dateland, Ajo, Wickenburg, Phoenix, Casa Grande, Globe, Tucson, Nogales, Sells, Green Valley, Oro Valley, Oracle, San Carlos, Safford, Oracle, Oro Valley, Green Valley, and Grand Canyon Village. Arizona is primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company, and UNS Energy subsidiaries Unisource and Tucson Electric Power.

Nevada's Las Vegas and Beatty, which fall under the service area of Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit NV Energy, were also placed under a similar warning.

An extreme heat warning was raised for California's Blythe, El Centro Imperial, Palm Springs, Twentynine Palms, Baker, Death Valley, Mount Laguna, Julian, Borrego Springs, Indio, Beaumont, and Barstow, primarily served by Edison International (EIX) unit Southern California Edison.

In Texas, extreme heat warnings were raised for Gainesville, Bowie, Decatur, Jacksboro, Graham, Fort Worth, Granbury, Dallas, Cleburne, Stephenville, Waxahachie, Denton, Canton, Emory, Sulphur Springs, Sherman, Paris, and Greenville. These places are primarily served by Sempra Energy (SRE) unit Oncor.

Affected areas in Oklahoma include Bartlesville, Ponca City, Enid, Stillwater, Tulsa, Chandler, Muskogee, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Chickasha, Ada, MAcAlester, Hugo, Duncan, Atoka, Ardmore, and Durant. OGE Energy (OGE) unit Oklahoma Gas & Electric and American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiary Public Service Co. of Oklahoma are the major service providers in Oklahoma.

Areas placed under an extreme heat warning watch in Arkansas included Fort Smith, Searcy, Little Rock, Hot Springs, Russellville, Conway, Brinkley, Jonesboro, and parts of Monticello. These places are primarily served by AEP's Southwestern Electric Power Company, and Entergy's (ETR) Arkansas unit.

Extreme heat warnings were also raised for Natchez, Cleveland, Greenville, Vicksburg, Greenwood, Jackson, and Brookhaven, where Southern Company (SO) unit Mississippi Power and Entergy Mississippi are the major service providers; and certain areas of Louisiana near Bastrop, Monroe, and Alexandria, served by Entergy Louisiana.

The NWS issued a flood warning for Illinois' Peru, Canton, Havana, Ottawa, Champaign, and Decatur. Ameren's (AEE) Illinois unit and Exelon (EXC) subsidiary ComEd are among the major service providers in Illinois.

Indiana's Seymour, Terre Haute, Vincennes, Fort Wayne, and Indianapolis were also covered under a flood warning watch. NiSource (NI) unit Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Duke Energy, and the Indiana unit of AES (AES), AEP unit Indiana Michigan Power, and CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Indiana unit are among the major service providers in the state.

The NWS also issued flash flood warnings for Leavenworth in Kansas, and Kansas City in Missouri.

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