What to Expect as a Punishing Heat Wave Shifts East

A heat wave that broke dozens of temperature records across the American Southwest will shift to more of the country this weekend, with heat peaking in the Northeast early next week.

Some East Coast cities, including Baltimore and Washington, D.C., will experience temperatures reaching up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. That won’t necessarily break records, as Las Vegas and many other Western cities did last week. But it can still be dangerous.

“What we want people to be prepared for is the hot daytime temperatures, and the temperatures that don’t really cool off that much at night,” said Richard Bann, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. That can be especially stressful for people who don’t have a good way to keep cool or aren’t staying hydrated, he said.

Here’s the forecast for each part of the country into early next week:

The West gets a brief respite

More than 50 cities across California and Nevada broke heat records last week — including the hottest temperature ever recorded in Las Vegas, which reached 120 degrees.

Officials suspect heat to be the cause of more than 100 deaths reported in the West this month, though each requires an investigation, and the cause of each death could take months to determine.

After the oppressive temperatures, the region can expect a minor break starting late Saturday. High temperatures in Las Vegas will drop back to a more typical 110 or so, while Salt Lake City will experience highs in the 90s early next week, with overnight temperatures dropping into the 70s.