There is no sign of the intense heat getting more forgiving in the coming week as temperatures are expected to reach triple digits in the US southwest, particularly in Arizona and Nevada, before moving to the eastern U.S.
According to NBC News, there are 18 million people under heat alerts until Thursday, in the southwest and in some parts of California. There is a possibility that temperatures can go as much as 15 degrees higher by Wednesday, approaching record heat.
From Tuesday through Thursday, the Phoenix metro area, and some parts of northwest and south-central Arizona, could breach triple-digit temperatures. Based on the National Weather Service Prediction Center's report, the high temperatures could reach 111 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, prompting excessive heat warning in these zones.
Todd Shoemake of the NWS in Albuquerque said that in the first couple of weeks of June, there are already many places that are starting to see the temperatures escalating. He also mentioned southern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Arizona, as being among the places where there are already triple-digit temperatures.
ABC News reported that amid the rising temperatures, there is a growing concern about heat in the northern New Mexico area. Accordingly, it is possible that the thunderstorms on Monday could eventually lead to flash floods in the burn scar of the 2022 Hermits Peak Fire, which altered the landscape of Mora, San Miguel and Taos.