HEATWAVES TO BATTER U.S. WEST, WEATHERMEN WARN

An unusually early and long-lasting heatwave brought more triple-digit temperatures Wednesday to a large swath of the US West, raising concerns that such extreme weather could become the new normal amid a decades-long drought, Anita Snow reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Phoenix, which is seeing some of the highest temperatures this week, tied a record for the second day in a row when it reached 115 degrees (46 Celsius) Wednesday and was expected to hit 117 (47 Celsius) each of the next two days, the National Weather Service said.

Scientists who study drought and climate change say that people living in the American West can expect to see more of the same in the coming years.

“Heatwaves are getting worse in the West because the soil is so dry” from the region’s megadrought, said Park Williams, a University of California, Los Angeles, climate and fire scientist who has calculated that soil in the western half of the nation is the driest it has been since 1895.

“We could have two, three, four, five of these heatwaves before the end of the summer.”

In California, the operator of the state’s power grid is asking residents to voluntarily conserve power for a few hours Thursday evening as record-breaking heat blankets the West this week.

The California Independent System Operator issued the alert to help relieve stress on the grid. It asks people to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, turn off unnecessary lights and avoid using major appliances. CEO Elliot Mainzer said the grid was stable and there was no expectation of rotating power outages, but that could change as temperatures spike in the coming days.

Higher temperatures also were felt in the normally temperate San Francisco Bay Area. A few cooling centers were open but mostly empty by the afternoon.

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