World's hottest ever temperature could be broken in US heatwave

 

Weekend heat wave to bake western US

 

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) - Las Vegas could experience some of the hottest weather ever recorded this weekend.

 

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat watch for elevations below 4,000 feet beginning Friday morning and ending Sunday evening.

 

Forecasters said the mercury may climb to 115 degrees during the weekend - only two degrees shy of the hottest temperature ever recorded in Las Vegas of 117 degrees in 1942.

 

Temperatures could climb to as high as 123 degrees in Mesquite and communities along the Colorado River, forecasters said. They said temperatures could approach 127 degrees in Death Valley.

 

Forecasters said nighttime will provide little relief in the urban areas, where temperatures will not drop below 90 degrees.

 

Saturday will likely be the hottest day of the excessive heat wave, forecasters said.

 

Forecasters said children, the elderly and people with chronic ailments are usually the first to suffer from the heat. They said people should check on those who may be at risk of heat-related illness.

 

http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/22673321/forecasters-warn-of-near-record-heat-this-weekend

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLOx81cHSY8]Why is Death Valley so Hot? - YouTube[/ame]

Wow! I never knew it was the hottest place on earth.

Even with that explanation, it still just seems weird to me that the hottest temps ever (even with the prior record) wouldn't be near the equator.

I think they broke the BBC weather display presenting this forecast :lol: there doesn't appear to be a colour for 53C, we use red for 25-30C!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfQZPDe6Bzo]US heat wave Dozens succumb to heat in western US - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndujjdy4frA]Deadly Heatwave Hits US West Coast - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXMpT4JF-q0]Breaking: Arizona Wildfire, 19 Firefighters Die While Battling Yarnell Hill Blaze - July 1, 2013 - YouTube[/ame]

 

Firefighters die battling Arizona wildfire

 

At least 19 US firefighters have been killed battling a wildfire in central Arizona, local officials say.

 

They died while fighting the blaze threatening the town of Yarnell, about 80 miles (130km) north-west of Phoenix. The fire was started by lightning on Friday and spread rapidly amid high heat, low humidity and strong winds. At least 200 homes were burned.

 

Arizona and other parts of the western US - including California - had near-record temperatures over the weekend. It is the highest death toll for firefighters in a single incident since 9/11.

 

Arizona Senator John McCain said the families of the dead firefighters were in the thoughts and prayers of all Americans.

 

"This devastating loss is a reminder of the grave risks our firefighters take every day on our behalf in Arizona and in communities across this nation. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten," he said in a statement.

 

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said it could take "days or longer" to reveal how the deaths occurred. "This is as dark a day as I can remember," she said. "It has been confirmed that 19 wildland firefighters have lost their lives on the Yarnell Hill fire Arizona," the US Wildland Fire Aviation said in a statement.

 

The firefighters were part of a specially trained "hotshot" unit who had battled other wildfires in New Mexico and Arizona in recent weeks, officials say.

 

They were forced to deploy emergency tent-like structures meant to shield them from flames after becoming trapped and "something drastic" happened, said Dan Fraijo, fire chief in the nearby city of Prescott.

 

"One of the last fail-safe methods a firefighter can do is literally to dig as much as they can down and cover themselves with a protective fire-resistant material, with the hope that the fire will burn over the top of them and they can survive it," he said. "Under certain conditions there's usually only sometimes a 50% chance that they survive. It's an extreme measure that's taken under the absolute worst conditions."

 

Two other members of the elite unit who suffered severe burns have been flown to a burn treatment centre in Phoenix. The tragedy is the worst in a wildfire since 1933, when at least 25 firemen died battling a fire in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

 

Some 200 firefighters are still battling the fast-moving wildfire, which has grown to 1,000 acres. Additional reinforcements have been called in.

 

The blaze has forced the evacuation of local residents. An estimated 200 homes were destroyed in Yarnell, the Associated Press reported, almost half the properties in the town. In recent days, dozens of people across western US states have been treated for exhaustion and dehydration, as the heat wave continues.

 

Temperatures in some areas were expected to reach 54C (130F), close to the world's all-time high recorded 100 years ago in California's Death Valley.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23123817

Very sad. It will be intriguing (and educational) to hear the story from the one firefighter that survived.