Be careful in the heat and check on neighbors, especially the elderly, and pets, officials suggest.
View full sizeWonder where it's worse than here? Try the Midwest. A field of corn withers under triple-degree heat on Monday north of Wichita, Kan., in Sedgwick County. The drought gripping the United States is the widest since 1956, according to new data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Fifty-five percent of the continental U.S. was in a moderate to extreme drought by the end of June, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., said in its monthly State of the Climate drought report. That's the largest percentage since December 1956, when 58 percent of the country was covered by drought.The region, in the midst of its fourth heat wave of the still young summer, will be in a heat advisory from 1 this afternoon until 8 this evening, according to the National Weather Service. The advisory could continue on Wednesday.
People should drink plenty of water and stay in air conditioning, if possible, the weather service suggests. Stay out of the sun -- the UV Index is forecast at 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 -- and check on neighbors, especially the elderly, and pets, the weather service said.
If you have to work outside, OSHA suggests frequent breaks in an air-conditioned area, the weather service says. If you become overcome by the heat, call 911, the weather service says.
Heat indexes are expected to reach 100 today and could go to 104 on Wednesday, when storms later in the day are expected to cut into the heat.