The National Weather Service maintained an excessive heat warning through Wednesday evening, spanning from the Midwest all the way to the South.
And the heat advisory in place for the Midwest and South stretched all the way eastward to the South Carolina shoreline.
“There are a lot of vulnerable populations exposed to this heat,” University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd said. “I am particularly concerned about the elevated nighttime temperature. That’s what kills people if they are not adequately prepared or have the appropriate resources. Hurricanes get the headlines, but heat kills more people every year in the U.S.”
Thrasher worked quickly to apply glue to the side of a stone wall on W Ohio Street. In the heat, the sealant stiffens faster than in cooler weather, he said, so the glue becomes less malleable. Some of the affected areas were expected to get relief by Thursday. But the hot weather moving out could bring severe thunderstorms Wednesday to Iowa, Wisconsin and points eastward, including Michigan, according to the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center. Those storms could dump large hail or spawn tornadoes or damaging straight-line winds.