Northeast swelters; Southwest bakes: 100 million people will feel the heat this week

The western portion of the country will be socked by record-challenging temperatures for the next week to 10 days as the heat wave could stretch into typically cooler northwestern states such as Washington and Oregon.

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“Broadly speaking, much of the Southwest and Intermountain West will be challenging records through the early and midweek period next week," Adkins said. “Some locations stand a fair chance to break them, particularly in the Southwest."

The mercury rising in mid-August might fit into the “dog bites man" news category, but some of the numbers are eye-popping even for normally broiling spots such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, where the average high these days tops 100 degrees.

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Adkins did say long-range projections show well-above-average temperatures through August and well into September in parts of the country, especially California, which should serve as a reminder for people not to leave unattended children or pets in cars on hot days.

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Adkins said the high temperatures commonly associated with summer may continue in the early fall.

“I think it’s likely we’re going to see more record events into September as well,’’ he said.