Spring could be short-lived in the South, with the first major heat wave of 2024 expected to ravage Southern states from Texas to Florida next week.
After a weather year filled with deep freezes, atmospheric rivers and destructive tornadoes in parts of the United States, weather forecasts for the upcoming season predict scorching heat waves that could affect Americans across the country.
The long-range weather forecast for May 7-11 shows that cities from Houston to Tampa to Atlanta will experience much warmer temperatures than normal.
Many daily high temperature records could be broken by mid to late next week across the South and Southeast, with highs in the 90s.
Marking the first spike in temperatures in the southern region, the National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts location-based heat risk levels ranging from Level 2, or “moderate,” to Level 4, or “extreme.” the highest level. .
South Texas is expected to experience the most severe heat threat next week, where the NWS predicts Level 4 extreme heat will begin Tuesday and continue through the end of the week.
In this July 16, 2023, file photo, residents cool off in the Liz Carpenter Splash Pad at Butler Park in Austin, Texas, during a heat wave.
Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
The NWS notes: “This level of rare extreme heat with little or no relief overnight affects anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration,” adding that the impacts can be felt in “most health systems, heat-sensitive industries and infrastructure.
By Wednesday next week, Level 2 moderate heat will cover the states of Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and southern Georgia and extend into the Carolinas and parts of Virginia.
Moderate heat levels “affect most heat-sensitive individuals, particularly those without effective cooling systems and/or adequate hydration,” according to the NWS, which notes that the impacts are also “ possible in certain health systems and in heat-sensitive industries.
In this Aug. 19, 2023, file photo, a police officer directing traffic takes a break to drink water during a record heat wave, in Arlington, Texas.
Lm Otero/AP, FILE
Extreme heat could become an increasingly dangerous reality this summer, after 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history, according to last year’s report from Copernicus, Europe’s climate change service. .
Last summer saw unprecedented triple-digit temperatures across the southern United States, with El Paso, Texas experiencing a record 44 consecutive days of temperatures at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in June and July.
Phoenix, Arizona, experienced a record 31 days of 110 degrees or higher, surpassing the previous record of 18 consecutive days.
Last year, Death Valley National Park in California experienced 17 consecutive days of temperatures above 120 degrees, from July 14 to 30, according to the National Park Service.
Globally, the planet reached its highest average temperature on record for four consecutive days in July.
ABC News’ Julia Jacobo and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.
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