Fair / 66° F
The Midwest scorcher continues [UPDATED]
Published 11:13am Tuesday, July 19, 2011 Updated 11:20am Tuesday, July 19, 2011AP and Journal reports
Midwest residents woke Tuesday to the whir of fans and air conditioners, the soundtrack to an unusually intense heat wave enveloping most of middle America and slowly spreading eastward.
From Texas to the Dakotas, and east to Illinois and Indiana, temperatures and humidity levels soared on Monday and were expected to remain high through at least the end of the week, by which time forecasters say the East Coast will get to share the misery.
In the Fergus Falls area, heat indexes were predicted to reach as high as 106 this afternoon.
An excessive heat warning was in effect in Fergus Falls until 1 a.m. Thursday morning.
Seventeen states issued heat watches, warnings or advisories on Monday, when the heat index easily surpassed 100 degrees in many places, including 126 in Newton, Iowa, and 119 in Madison, Minn.
