Temperature breaks decade-old record in Dallas as southern US reels under heat wave

Another record-setting day of high temperatures hit the Dallas/Fort Worth area Saturday before a slight cooling trend moves into the area, according to the National Weather Service, as heat warnings stretch from the Gulf Coast to the South-eastern US and upper Mid-South. Temperatures in the area reached 43.3 degrees Celsius breaking by four degrees the previous record for this date that was set in 2011, according to the National Weather Service. The heat dome that has been over the state since June is expected to move out of the area soon, according to weather service meteorologist Ted Ryan. Excessive heat warnings were in effect for much of eastern Texas, most of both Louisiana and Mississippi and portions of Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, and the Florida Panhandle. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, has asked the state’s 30 million residents five times this summer to voluntarily reduce power usage because of the high temperatures creating high demand for electricity. ERCOT has reached record high-peak demand for power 10 times since June, according to its website. The historic heat wave stretched over portions of Mississippi and Louisiana as well. Peak heat-index readings of 48.3 degrees Celsius and 48.9 degrees Celsius are expected across the entire area. In Mississippi, the city of Jackson remained under an excessive heat warning as temperatures were expected to peak Saturday at 39.4 degrees Celsius. City officials said the high temperatures are putting a strain on the city’s water system as an additional four million gallons of water are being delivered through the system each day. JXN Water is asking residents to cut their water usage to help conserve it. Meanwhile, in Louisiana, the entire state was under an excessive heat warning and a burn ban due to critical fire weather conditions persisting. “This is the hottest summer we’ve ever recorded,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Phil Grigsby said in Louisiana. As of Friday, the area has had a heat index reading — what the temperature feels like — over 105 degrees F (40.6) for 55 days, since June 1, Grigsby said. For the Dallas area, which has had nine record high-temperature days before Saturday, slightly cooler temperatures are expected. “There’s going to be a front that starts making its way down here, the high is only going to be 103 degrees (Sunday),” Ryan said with a laugh. “But Monday and Tuesday highs are going to be in the mid-90s, which is right around normal … 95 is going to feel pretty good for a lot of us.” Ryan said highs above 100 are likely not at an end with temperatures probably reaching above that level during September. Grigsby said temporary relief is also on the horizon in neighbouring Louisiana. “We will see a cold front come down across the area” as the tropical low-pressure heads toward Florida, Grigsby said. “That will push the 100 to 105-degree temperatures to the more typical temperatures we’re used to seeing in August, into the lower 90s.”