Deadly heat dissipates as thunderstorms expected to bring flash flooding
More than two dozen people are suspected to have died in New Jersey as a result of last week’s record-breaking heat wave. Gov. Mikie Sherrill says at least 25 people are believed to have died from the extreme heat, with most of the deaths reported in the central and northern parts of the state.
The first deaths were reported Thursday, but thunderstorms Friday night and through the weekend knocked out power to nearly 300,000 customers. Wind gusts reaching 80 miles an hour toppled trees and power lines, compounding an already dangerous situation.
“Unfortunately, many of these individuals were found in homes without air conditioning,” Dr. Raynard Washington, New Jersey’s health commissioner, said during a news conference on Saturday. “A few were outside their residences, some on the street and some even in parked cars.”
The ages of those suspected to have died from the heat range from their mid-30s to their 80s.
“The heat’s hitting all of us, not just seniors, not just with underlying health conditions, people of all ages,” Gov. Sherrill said.
Other heat-related deaths
A heat-related death was also reported in Cook county, Illinois, according to a local government spokesperson. That person’s cause of that death was recorded as organic cardiovascular disease with heat stress as a contributing factor.
In Mississippi, two people have died from heat exposure in Hinds County. Officials there said Thursday a man identified as 74-year-old Mitchell Ray Cooley was found dead behind a gas station a day after he had been reported missing.
“Mr. Cooley suffered from a medical condition that impaired his judgment,” the coroner’s office said in a statement.
On Saturday, an 83-year-old woman died after falling in her garden. Authorities say her husband tried to help her up, but he fell too. Neither were able to get up and spent hours in the heat before they were found.
Heat dissipates but threats don’t
While the heat dome that drove last week’s record temperatures is beginning to weaken, it’s also helping spark thunderstorms across parts of the midwest and northeast Monday. Forecasters are warning of the potential for flash flooding in North Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
They’re also now tracking a new heat dome that’s expected to build over the Rockies and expand toward the Pacific Coast later this week.
Round out your reading
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
