Excessive heat warnings have been issued for portions of 21 states, with temperatures expected to reach 115 degrees in some places. Thermometers in Pierre, South Dakota registered 105 degrees on Wednesday afternoon.
Persistent, scorching heat in the central and eastern regions of the United States shattered long-standing daily and monthly temperature records last month, making it the fourth warmest July on record nationally, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center.
