Heat dome keeps New Orleans broiling with heat index as high as 110F

Heatwaves distort streetcars, pedestrians and cars on Canal Street in New Orleans on 28 June 2023. Photograph: Sophia Germer/AP

After service ended at the New Philippians Missionary Baptist church in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans on Sunday, the church kept its doors open for people from the neighborhood who needed a break from the heat.

A heat dome of high pressure has been hovering over Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma creating dangerously hot weather for nearly two weeks. On Sunday, heat index values threatened to hit 110F in New Orleans, according to the National Weather Service.