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NWS Warns of Tropical Storm Lala Impact in Hawaii, Record Heat in Central/Southern Plains

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The US National Weather Service on Monday said it expects Tropical Storm Lala to bring continues gusty winds, heavy rains, flash flooding, and high surfs even as it moves away from the islands.

The region stretching from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and across the central High Plains is expected to experience persistent severe thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, and flash flooding threats.

Meanwhile, areas falling in central/southern Plains and into the Southeast are likely to encounter record heat.

The NWS early Monday issued an extreme heat warning for the entirety of Mississippi, except for parts of Hattiesburg. Southern Company (SO) subsidiary Mississippi Power and Entergy's (ETR) Mississippi unit are the major service providers in the state.

A similar warning was raised for Alabama's Hamilton, Jasper, Gadsden, Birmingham, Anniston, Sylacauga, Tuscaloosa, Clanton, Alexander City, Demopolis, Troy, Montgomery, and Columbus. Alabama is primarily served by Southern Company's Alabama Power.

Affected areas in Arkansas include Russellville, Little Rock, Conway, Brinkley, Searcy, Jonesboro and Pine Bluff, which primarily fall under the service area of Entergy's Arkansas subsidiary.

In Louisiana, an extreme heat warning was issued for Baton Rouge, Hammond, Houma and New Orleans, served by Entergy Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans units.

Also covered under an extreme heat warning watch were Florida's Panama City, Apalachicola, Tallahassee and parts of De Funiak Springs. Nextera Energy's (NEE) Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy (DUK) are the major service providers in these places.

Extreme heat warnings were also issued for Georgia's Hinesville and Savannah, where Southern Company's Georgia Power is the primary service provider; and Memphis and areas near Jackson and Dyersville in Tennessee, where Tennessee Valley Authority is the primary service provider.

South Carolina's Hilton Head Island, Beaufort, Charleston, Summerville, Moncks Corner, Florence, Kingstree, Georgetown, Conway and Myrtle Beach; and North Carolina's Whiteville, Southport, Wilmington, Burgaw, Kenansville, New Bern, Jacksonville, and Morehead City were also placed under an extreme heat warning watch. The Carolinas primarily fall under the service areas of Dukes Energy and Dominion Energy (D).

In Arizona, an extreme heat warning was raised for Parker, Yuma, Gila Bend, Dateland, Ajo, Wickenburg, Phoenix, Casa Grande, Globe, Tucson, Nogales, Sells, Green Valley, Oro Valley, Oracle, San Carlos, and Safford. Arizona is primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company, and UNS Energy subsidiaries Unisource and Tucson Electric Power.

A similar warning was also raised for California's Blythe and El Centro Imperial, served by Edison International's (EIX) Southern California Edison.

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

Indiana's Seymour, Terre Haute, Vincennes, Indianapolis, Muncie, and Fort Wayne 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) are among the major service providers in the state.

Flood warnings were also issued for Burlington in Iowa; Zanesville in Ohio; Elkins, Charleston, and areas near Fairmont and Clarksburg in West Virginia.

Meanwhile, a flash flood warning was raised for areas near Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.

In a statement issued on Saturday, ComEd said power had been restored to almost 99% of the its customers who were impacted by severe storms in northern Illinois on Aug. 11-12.

Destructive winds, tornadoes, and severe storms damaged power infrastructure and disrupted service for nearly 410,000 of the company's customers, the statement added.

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