NEW YORK – A gargantuan heat wave hunkered down over the central and eastern United States on Saturday, sending residents to cooling centers and inflicting on Washington a heat index of 106 degrees F (41 C) with even steamier conditions in the forecast.
“It’s pretty hot right now from the Plains states all the way through the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast,” said Alex Lamers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Heat is the deadliest of all weather phenomena, according to the weather service, and cities from Chicago to New York urged residents to seek refuge at cooling centers set up in locations ranging from libraries to shopping malls. (Reuters)
