Las Vegas baked today in its record fifth consecutive day of temperatures sizzling at 46.1 degrees or greater amid a lengthening hot spell that is expected to broil much of the US into the weekend.
The temperature climbed to 46.1 shortly after 1pm local time at Harry Reid International Airport, breaking the old mark of four consecutive days set in July 2005.
And the record could be extended, or even doubled, by the weekend.
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Even by desert standards, the prolonged baking that Nevada's largest city is experiencing is nearly unprecedented, with forecasters calling it "the most extreme heat wave" since the National Weather Service began keeping records in Las Vegas in 1937.
Already the city has broken 16 heat records since June 1, well before the official start of summer, "and we're not even halfway through July yet," meteorologist Morgan Stessman said Wednesday.
That includes an all-time high of 48.8 degree set on Sunday, which beat the previous 47.2 degree record.
It's also dangerously hot, health officials have emphasised. There have been at least nine heat-related deaths this year in Clark County, which encompasses Las Vegas, according to the county coroner's office. Officials say the toll is likely higher.
"Even people of average age who are seemingly healthy can suffer heat illness when it's so hot it's hard for your body to cool down," said Alexis Brignola, an epidemiologist at the Southern Nevada Health District.
For homeless residents and others without access to safe environments, officials have set up emergency cooling centres at community centers across southern Nevada.
More than 142 million people around the US were under heat alerts Wednesday, especially in Western states, where dozens of locations tied or broke heat records over the weekend and are expected to keep doing so all week.
Matt Fiedler takes a photo of daughter Sally Fiedler, left, and wife Cecilia Fiedler by the thermometer at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, Tuesday, in Death Valley, California.
In California, firefighters were battling least 19 wildfires Wednesday, including a 117-square-kilometre blaze that prompted evacuation orders for about 200 homes in the mountains of Santa Barbara County.
Beryl sped across the Texas coast on Monday, June 8, local time, unleashing heavy rains that prompted dozens of high-water rescues. The fast-moving tempest threatened to carve a harsh path over several more states in coming days. At least three people were killed as Beryl moved through Texas.
Within hours after Beryl swept ashore as a category one hurricane, it had weakened into a tropical storm, far less powerful than the category five behemoth that tore a deadly path of destruction through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean last weekend.
But the winds and rains of the fast-moving storm were still powerful enough to knock down hundreds of trees that had already been teetering in water-saturated earth and to strand dozens of cars on flooded roadways.
At least two people were killed when trees fell on homes, and the National Hurricane Centre said damaging winds and flash flooding would continue as Beryl pushes inland.
A third person, a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, was killed when he was trapped in flood waters under a highway overpass, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. There were no immediate reports of widespread structural damage, however.
Louise Cohen, right, and Zilfa Ruhen help clear neighborhood drains after Beryl made landfall in Houston.
Hook Jefferson assesses damages after a tree fell on his neighbour's home in Bay City, Texas.
More than 2.2 million homes and businesses were without power around Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city, after Beryl blew through, according to the CentrePoint Energy utility.
For many, it was an all-too-familiar experience: Powerful storms had just ripped through the area in May, killing eight people, leaving nearly one million without power, and flooding numerous streets.
Andrew Parada, an employee at Residence Inn, mops up the floor as water keeps leaking through in Galveston, Texas.
Houston and Harris County officials said power crews would be sent into the area to restore service as quickly as possible, an urgent priority for homes also left without air conditioning in the middle of summer.
Beachgoers try to keep their balance amid heavy gusts from Beryl in Galveston, Texas.
City of Galveston workers clear debris strewn by Beryl from the West End of the seawall in Galveston, Texas.
July 8
Earlier, Beryl had started lashing Texas with rain and intensifying winds as coastal residents boarded up windows, left beach towns under evacuation orders and prepared for the powerful storm that has already cut a deadly path through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean.
Although Beryl remained a tropical storm as it churned toward Texas, forecasters expected it to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall.
Pictured is a man named Black Braun, seen loading his dog Dolly into his family's vehicle as outer bands from Tropical Storm Beryl begin to hit the coast on Sunday (Monday AEST) in Port O'Connor, Texas.
(Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Texas officials warned the storm would cause power outages and flooding but also expressed worry that not enough coastal residents and beach vacationers in Beryl's path were heeding warnings to leave.
Pictured are workers with the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees removing lifeguard towers from the beach near 57th Street in Galveston, Texas.
(Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. The storm ripped off doors, windows and roofs with devastating winds and storm surge fueled by the Atlantic's record warmth.
People watch waves crash into the 37th Street rock groin in Galveston, Texas.
(Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
July 4
Thousands have been ordered to evacuate in Northern California in the US due to a wildfire burning in Butte County, as an "exceptionally dangerous and lethal" heat wave in the West ramps up.
Soaring temperatures – which will continue into next week – have dried out already-parched vegetation, increasing the wildfire risk across the region.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the area of the fire, clearing the path for additional resources, including the possibility of mobilising the California National Guard to assist.
The governor's proclamation cites "continued high temperatures throughout the day and night, dry conditions, and strong winds" that have increased the intensity and spread of the fire.