The Eternal journalist has been provoked to file another dispatch to the invisible overlords for whom I work reporting on the climate crisis on planet Earth. They nudge me, cause me to awaken in the early hours composing sentences in my head. Apparently I'm not only here to cover this heat explosion taking place on planet Earth, but also the strange political demise of the population here in the United States,
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Link here to previous 2 blogs about disinformation
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but this particular blog post is about climate.
Video transcribed here is from Severe Weather USA channel on YouTube since May 2025 from the United States Aug 19, 2026 U.S. Weather Emergency | 60 Million Under Extreme Heat Alerts, Severe Storms & Dust Storm ThreatA major U.S. weather emergency is unfolding as 60 million Americans face heat alerts, with extreme temperatures reaching 118°F. Severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, flash flooding and a dangerous haboob/dust storm threat are also impacting multiple states. Stay informed on the latest U.S. weather alerts, storm threats, extreme heat and dangerous conditions.
Transcript
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Right now, 60 million Americans are waking up to one of the most dangerous weather days of the entire summer. We're talking a triple threat, severe storms, deadly flooding, and a heat dome that simply will not quit. Today is Wednesday, the 19th of August, 2026. And here's what you need to know. First, this is already the third heat dome to park over the central and southern United States this summer alone. That's not normal. And today it's combining with a severe storm outbreak that has meteorologists watching very closely.
We've got a lot to cover and every single region in this country is feeling something today. All right, let's start out west because the numbers coming out of the desert southwest are absolutely staggering. The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning stretching across southwest Arizona and southeast California. And folks, we're not just talking hot. We are talking dangerously, life-threateningly hot.
Afternoon highs across the lower Colorado River Valley and Death Valley are expected to hit 115 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit. In the Yuma, Arizona area and out toward El Centro California, we're looking at 106 to 114 degrees this afternoon. The Las Vegas Valley is sitting at 107 to 110 degrees today and that warning runs all the way through Friday evening.
Now, here's the thing about overnight lows that most people don't talk about enough. In Phoenix and surrounding communities, overnight temperatures tonight are forecast near 90° F. Your body needs nighttime to recover from heat stress. When it stays 85° at a.m., that recovery simply doesn't happen. That is what makes multi-day heat events so deadly, especially for elderly residents and young children. If you are in the Phoenix metro, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Glendale, please take this seriously today. The NWS Phoenix office is forecasting 108 to 111° for central Phoenix and the East Valley this afternoon.
And listen, if you don't have air conditioning or your power goes out, you need to get to a cooling center immediately. In Maricopa County, call 211 right now to find the nearest free cooling center. water and transportation.
Moving over to the Grand Canyon, this is critically important for any hikers or tourists in that area today. An extreme heat warning is in effect below 4,000 ft elevation through Thursday evening at the Grand Canyon. At Phantom Ranch, deep inside the canyon, temperatures are expected between7 and 111 degrees Fahrenheit. The NWS Flagstaff office is specifically warning dayhikers on Bright Angel Trail, do not descend more than one and a half miles. Between a.m. and 400 p.m., hikers should be out of the canyon entirely. Hike smart. This is not the week to push your limits. Now, there's a new wrinkle in the southwest today.
We also have blowing dust advisories in effect across portions of Arizona, the Hila Bend area, northwest Panell County, the Tonapa Desert, Buckeye, Aendale, and South Mountain dust advisory p.m. to p.m. MST. Tonight down in the Tucson metro, Morirana, Vale, Green Valley, a separate blowing dust advisory runs from 300 p.m. to 10 p.m. MST today. NWS Tucson is warning of potential haboob formation. That dust wall could spread west to northwest across the region. Strong thunderstorm outflow, winds of 45 to 55 mph could kick up massive walls of dust moving northwest. If you encounter blowing dust while driving on I 10, I19, or any other highway in southern Arizona tonight, pull completely off the pavement. Put it in park. Set your emergency brake. Turn off all lights, including your hazard flashers, and keep your foot off the brake pedal. Stay in your vehicle with your seatbelt on. Remember, pull aside, stay alive, never drive through a dust storm.
All right, let's move into Nevada and Southern California because the heat story continues there as well. The NWS Las Vegas office has an extreme heat warning running from today through Friday evening at 800 PM Pacific time. Lake Havsu City, Needles, Bullhead City, 29 Palms. All of you are looking at 107 to 115 degree heat today. And Southern California is not off the hook either. A heat advisory remains in effect through Thursday evening. The San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, the Inland Empire, Fontana, Rancho, Cucamonga, Ontario, San Bernardino, you're looking at temperatures up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit Wednesday and Thursday. limit outdoor activity to early morning.
The Los Angeles and Oxnard NWS office also has a heat advisory for the Santa Clarita Valley, San Frernando Valley, the San Gabriel Mountains corridor, the Coyama Valley, and the Santa Yanes range, 95 to 105° through Thursday. 5.05 Now, here's something I need to talk about before we move east. The power grid situation across the central United States. This is the story behind the story and it affects tens of millions of people in states you might not expect. The Southwest Power Pool, that's the grid operator serving 17 states and roughly 20 million Americans, has been operating under a federal emergency order issued by the US Department of Energy. That order under section 202C of the Federal Power Act was triggered by record electricity demand from this heatwave. Here's what that means in plain English. Everybody cranking their AC at the same time is straining the grid to its limits. At the same time, wind generation is running below expectations, and several power plants have had outages.
The goal of this emergency order is to prevent reaching energy emergency alert level 3, the stage where rolling blackouts begin. Utilities like OG and E in Oklahoma are actively asking customers to shift energy use away from peak hours 2 to p.m. Simple things. Help set your thermostat to 78 degrees. Run laundry in the morning or after 800 PM. Use ceiling fans. If your power does go out during this heat, do not wait. Get to a cooling center. Heat stroke can kill within minutes.
The states covered by this grid emergency include Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana, and Texas. If you are in any of those states, please conserve energy today. It is genuinely a community effort right now.
Okay let's shift now to the southern plains. Um because the heat emergency doesn't stop at the Arizona border. An extreme heat warning is in effect right now for central and northern Oklahoma. And this includes Oklahoma City. We're looking at heat index values. That's the feels like temperature combining heat and humidity up to 110 degrees. The warning runs from a.m. to p.m. Central time today. issued by the NWS Norman, Oklahoma office. If you're in Moore, Norman, Edmund, Stillwater, Enid, or Lton, stay inside during the peak heat hours today. Now, here's where things get even more serious. Moving into eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas, the NWS Tulsa office has an extreme heat warning in effect until 900 p.m. CDT Wednesday, covering a huge swath of territory. Tulsa, Fort Smith, Muscogee, Malester, Taloqua. Heat index values up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit today. 113 degrees feels like in Oklahoma and Arkansas in August. This is not a drill. And for the folks in central and eastern Arkansas, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Jonesboro, Pineluff, the NWS Little Rock office has an extreme heat warning from a.m. to p.m. CDT with heat index values near or over 110.
Now, let's talk North Texas because the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex is right in the middle of all of this. An extreme heat warning covers the entire DFW region and extends across a large portion of North Texas today. NWS Fort Worth is warning of actual air temperatures reaching up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit this afternoon. That covers Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Frisco, McKenna, Denton, Lewisville, and dozens of surrounding communities. If you're driving on I35, I 20, I30, or the Dallas North Tollway today, have water in your car. Always. A broken down vehicle on Texas Highway in 108° heat can become a life-threatening emergency extremely fast.
Heat advisories one step below the extreme heat warning are also in effect across a massive stretch of the country. We're talking western and northwestern Oklahoma, uh, northern Texas, the Texas panhandle, West Texas rolling plains, heat index values up to 107 to 109 degrees across those areas today. Down in the Gulf South, southern Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, southern Mississippi, heat advisories are in effect with heat index values up to 110 degrees through p.m. Central time tonight.
The Shreveport NWS office has actually extended their heat advisory all the way through Thursday evening at PM covering portions of southwest Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, southeast Oklahoma, and east and northeast Texas. The Midsouth and Southeast are also dealing with this heat. Let's run through those quickly. Heat advisories today for portions of Tennessee and Mississippi, the Memphis area, including Tuna, Clarksdale. Heat index values up to 109 to 112 degrees. Stay hydrated and check on your neighbors, folks. In Alabama, both Birmingham and Mobile NWS offices have heat advisories in place for much of the state today. Portions of southwest and west central Alabama, northwest Florida, panhandle, and southeast Mississippi heat index up to 110 for Florida.
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And there is a lot of Florida under heat alerts today. Let me break this down for you. The entire state is essentially dealing with dangerous heat from the panhandle to the Keys. Uh heat index values are extreme. NWS Jacksonville has a heat advisory for northeast and north central Florida. Heat index values up to 112 degrees. NWS Tampa Bay Ruskin has a heat advisory for much of West Central and Southwest Florida. Heat index up to 112 degrees. that covers Tampa, Street Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lakeland, and surrounding communities. NWS Miami has a heat advisory for all of South Florida. Heat index 105 to 112 degrees from a.m. to 700 p.m. today. That includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Naples, and the entire Florida Keys corridor. And NWS Melbourne is covering Central Florida, Orlando, CM, Daytona Beach, Vero Beach, heat index 108 to 112. The Carolinas and Georgia coast are also under heat advisories today. This heat dome is enormous. Coastal Georgia, including Savannah. Coastal South Carolina, including Charleston and Bowfort, heat index up to 111°. coastal North Carolina including Wilmington, Myrtle Beach area and the Outer Banks corridor. Heat index up to 109. All right, now I want to pivot to what is the most dynamically dangerous weather story of the day, the severe storm threat.
Because while the heat is deadly and widespread, the severe thunderstorm setup today is absolutely explosive. The NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, has issued a slight risk level, two out of five for severe storms. And while slight sounds minor, I want to be very clear. The atmospheric ingredients in place today are anything but slight. Here's the setup.
A shortwave trough, think of it as a ripple of energy moving through the upper atmosphere, is currently embedded over western Kansas, moving east and west northwesterly flow, a loft. At the surface, an extremely moist air mass is in place from the mid Mississippi Valley westward into the central plains. We're measuring surface due points. That's the moisture content of the air at ground level at 68 to 72° F. That is tropical level moisture sitting right in the heart of the Great Plains. It is staggeringly humid out there. And now here's the number that really jumped out at meteorologists today. The MLK values over northern Kansas. MLK most unstable convective available potential energy is essentially the fuel tank for thunderstorms.
The SBC's official day one outlook cites RAP model ML cape of 1,500 to 2500 jewels per kilogram along the Selena to Kansas City corridor. For context, ordinary strong summer thunderstorms typically have cape values of 500 to 1, 500 jewels per kilogram. 2500 jewels per kilogram is exceptionally high energy. Any storm that fires in this corridor will be capable of significant impacts.
There is also a well-defined outflow boundary sitting across central Kansas, acting as an additional focal point for storm initiation. Isolated severe thunderstorms are already ongoing near that boundary as of this broadcast. Now, the critical question, where exactly does the worst weather hit tonight?
Let me break this down geographically. The primary severe threat corridor runs from northeast Kansas down into west central Missouri this evening. That puts Kansas City, both the Missouri and Kansas side squarely in the zone of concern for tonight. Topeka, Lawrence, Ottawa, and the eastern Kansas communities along I7 need to be weather aware this evening. For Missouri, Jefferson City, Columbia, Sidelia, and the western edge of the Street Lewis metro could also see impacts. The severe thunderstorm watch ond number 598 is currently in effect until 400 a.m. Central time Wednesday morning. This watch covers 14 Kansas counties including Shaunie, Johnson, Wandot, Douglas, and Levvenworth counties and nine Missouri counties including Jackson County, which contains the heart of Kansas City. If you're in the Kansas City metro area tonight on either side of the state line, please have your weather alerts on. Now, let me walk through the three primary threats from tonight's storm so you know exactly what to watch for. Threat number one, and this is the primary concern according to the Storm Prediction Center, damaging wind gusts. The SPC's day 1 convective outlook specifically warns of wind gusts above 75 mph along any intense organized line segment. 75 mph that is strong enough to topple mature trees, blow out power lines, and overturn small vehicles.
The greatest wind threat comes if and when individual storms organize into a short intense line segment called a quasi linear convective system. When that kind of organization happens, wind damage can become widespread and affect large swaths of territory very quickly. 15.08 Threat number two, large hail. Moderate deep layer wind shear and steep lapse rates support hail production tonight. Early in the evening, while individual storm cells are still discreet before merging into a line, hail will be the main concern. Get any vehicles into a garage if you're in the watch area. Hail damage to cars can run into thousands of dollars.
Threat number three, flash flooding. This is perhaps the most widespread and insidious danger of tonight's event. The weather prediction center has a slight risk for excessive rainfall across the Missouri Valley. Valid through this morning. With the extraordinary moisture in place, those 68 to 72 degree due points, rainfall rates will be very high. Widespread rain totals of two to three inches are expected with locally higher amounts where storms train over the same areas. Training, that's when multiple thunderstorm cells follow the same path and dump rain over the same location repeatedly. When that happens, you can get four, five, even six or more inches of rain in just a few hours and flash flooding becomes severe. Because much of this rainfall is expected to occur overnight and during the Wednesday morning commute, timing is critical. If you commute on I7, I435, I35, or I470 in the Kansas City area, plan extra time Wednesday morning.
Based on past severe storm events in this region, road closures on major interstates are a very real possibility overnight. We have seen events where I7 and I35 have been closed in both directions due to flooding in the Kansas City metro. Missouri Department of Transportation MODOT operates a real-time flood information map you can access online. You can also call 1888 as KM O T. That's 18882756636 for road condition updates. Moving over to the Midwest and Great Lakes region, this is also a very active severe weather day. A distinct shortwave trough is sitting over the mid Mississippi Valley and thunderstorms are ongoing across multiple states.
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Northwestern Iowa has a couple of discrete supercell style thunderstorm cells that have maintained their structure this evening. As those cells move southeast into north central Iowa, isolated large hail and severe wind gusts will be possible. De Moine, Ames, and the I35 corridor through central Iowa. Keep an eye on the radar this evening. Meanwhile, storms have organized into a line segment across far southern Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Rine area, and that line has an isolated wind damage threat over the next couple of hours as it moves southeast. Lower Michigan, the Detroit metro, uh, Flint, Lancing, Grand Rapids also has a marginal severe weather threat this evening. Chicago, you are in the marginal risk area today. Uh storms are possible primarily along and south of the metro. Street Lewis, Davenport, and De Moines are also in the broader severe weather capable environment today. Now, let's talk about the northern high plains because there is an additional severe threat up there today as well. A separate shortwave trough is moving through Montana and that is firing isolated severe storms across the region. Northeast Wyoming and northeast Montana are seeing isolated strong to severe storms. As of this broadcast, MLK values of around 1,000 jewels per kilogram along the moist axis. Lower than the central plains, but still capable. The primary threats here, isolated large hail and severe wind gusts through this evening across both states.
All right, let's get into the extended forecast because this is a multi-day weather story and it is not over quickly.
Thursday, August 20th, the storm threat shifts east and south, and this could be the most significant day of the outbreak.
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The weather prediction center has issued a slight risk level, two out of four for excessive rainfall Thursday. The Storm Prediction Center has matched that with a slight risk level, two out of five, for severe thunderstorms across the mid Mississippi Valley. The flash flooding threat increases significantly Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, particularly from southern Iowa and northern Missouri across northern Illinois, including the Chicago metro area and into southern Wisconsin. Repeated rounds of heavy rain will fall on ground that is already saturated from tonight's storms.
Saturated ground can absorb more water, so even moderate rainfall can cause rapid and dangerous flooding. Urban flooding in Chicago and De Moines is a significant concern for Thursday morning. Plan your commute accordingly. On the heat side, Thursday brings no relief across the southwest, southern plains, or deep south. The upper level ridge, that dome of high pressure holding all this heat in place, remains anchored over the four corners region.
The extreme heat warning for much of the desert southwest continues through Friday evening. Oklahoma's streak of triple-digit days is expected to continue uninterrupted through at least Sunday with no meaningful relief. Friday, August 21st, the cold front begins to accelerate south, bringing some storm chances to the mids south and mid-Atlantic. The WPC has a marginal risk for excessive rainfall Friday across much of the Midsouth, Mid-Atlantic, and desert southwest.
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For the Southeast, some modest heat relief begins to arrive by Friday as the trough deepens in the eastern United States. But I want to be very clear, some relief in August in the south still means heat indices in the upper 90s to low 100s. Looking out toward the weekend,
August 22nd and 23rd. Here's the big picture setup.
That upper level high over the four corners region slowly expands northward into the inner mountain west. It will also shift eastward toward the high plains, continuing to support wi—--------despread hazardous heat across a large swath from the southwest all the way through the south central plains and lower Mississippi Valley. No significant heat break is coming. The multi-day severe storm threat along the slowmoving cold front continues through the end of this week. Monsunal moisture will continue streaming northward under the ridge, keeping scattered storm chances alive across the west. And that troughing in the east, that's the pattern change we need, will gradually deepen and extend into next week. Let me be very direct with you about the heat situation we are in right now because this deserves to be said plainly. This is the third heat dome over the central and southern United States this summer of 2026. The third one, roughly 60 million people are under heat alerts today. Oklahoma City is forecast to break a record standing since 1918. And here is a fact that genuinely shocked me. Extreme heat is not classified under the Stafford Act as a federal disaster. That means governors cannot request the same federal disaster relief for heat waves that they can for hurricanes or floods.
The response falls to cities and counties often improvised, funded out of local budgets summer after summer. So, please know your local resources, know where your cooling centers are, check on your neighbors. It matters. Now, before we wrap up, let me give you the safety information that I think is most important for today specifically. If you are in a severe storm area, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, make sure you have multiple ways to get warnings.
A weather app, Noah weather radio, outdoor sirens. Have at least two of these working and ready before tonight. If a tornado warning is issued in your area, even though the primary threats today are wind and hail and flooding, go to your lowest interior room away from windows. Basement if you have one, a bathroom or closet on the ground floor. Otherwise, if you are in the heat warning areas across Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, or the Southwest, know the signs of heat stroke. Heat exhaustion, you're still sweating, feeling dizzy and weak, maybe nauseous, get inside and cool down immediately. Heat stroke skin is hot, red, and dry. No sweating, confusion, slurred speech, or loss of consciousness. Call 911 right now. Heat stroke is a medical emergency. Do not wait to see if the person gets better. Call 911 immediately. Time matters. And once again, never ever leave children or pets in a closed vehicle. Not for a minute. Not even with the windows cracked. A car interior can reach 130 to 140 degrees on a hot day that is fatal within minutes for a child or pet. All right, let's bring it home. Here is your complete summary of what to expect today, the 19th of August, 2026. Across the desert southwest, extreme heat warning through Friday. Temperatures 106 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Stay inside, find cooling. across Nevada, Southern California. Heat warning and advisories through Thursday. Limit outdoor activity severely. Blowing dust tonight across portions of Arizona. Haboo possible near Tucson. Pull aside. Stay alive if you're on the road. Across the southern plains, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Fort Smith, Dallas, Fort Worth. Extreme heat warnings in effect today. Heat index values from 108 to 113°. 24.14 Conserve power. Check on elderly relatives and neighbors this afternoon across the deep south, Gulf Coast, and Florida. Heat advisories from a.m. to 7 or 800 pm tonight everywhere. Heat index values 105 to 112 degrees. Hydrate constantly. Avoid peak heat hours.
The humidity makes this brutal across the central plains and lower Missouri Valley. Severe thunderstorm watch 598 in effect through 400 a.m. Wednesday. Primary storm threats, wind gusts above 75 miles per hours with an organized line, large hail, and dangerous flash flooding overnight. Kansas City metro, both Missouri and Kansas, you are in the highest risk corridor. Have your alerts on tonight. Flash flooding on I7, I35, and local roads is a serious possibility overnight and into Wednesday morning commute. across Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the broader Midwest. Marginal to slight severe storm risk through this evening. Hail and wind are the primary threats. Monitor radar. Be ready to shelter if a warning is issued in your county. Looking ahead, Thursday brings a level two severe storm and flooding risk to the mid Mississippi Valley and upper Midwest. Chicago and De Moines, pay close attention to Thursday morning conditions. Urban flooding is a real possibility. And the heat, it's not going anywhere. The ridge holds through the weekend across the southwest and southern plains. This is a developing multi-day weather situation and I will have updates for you as conditions evolve. If you found this forecast helpful, please hit that like button and subscribe and turn on your notifications right now. That way you will get the latest updates on this storm system and the ongoing heat emergency as soon as I post them. This is a big week for weather across this country and I want to make sure you have the best information possible. I'll see you in the next one. Take care of each other out there.
Monday, August 3, 2026
Sci-fi: Eternal journalist on Earth assignment since 1955- NEW at Heating Planet blog
Saturday, August 15, 2026
w Transcript- 100-meter flames radiate walls of heat that move at speed of light w temps close to 500 C. John Vaillant on new world of fire- BBC Aug 10 report Read & Watch at Heating Planet blog
AND
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
"More than 200 days at sea. No port calls. No clear end in sight" USA attacked from within Part 2
"Destroyed supply hubs, disappearing allies, questionable war planning, and aircraft-carrier https://cityofangels25.blogspot.com/2026/08/more-than-200-days-at-sea-no-port-calls.html
Disinformation warfare destroying USA
Whoever came up with this strategy to take over the United States was brilliant: Use lies
