From heat wave to thunderstorms, third of US to see extreme weather

A third of Americans faced severe weather on Thursday as a prolonged heat wave persisted in the South and Southwest, damaging thunderstorms hit the Central United States, and another round of heavy downpours threatened to trigger more flooding in rain-soaked parts of the East Coast.

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HEAT WAVE

Some 110 million Americans are affected by an oppressive heat wave that has blanketed a huge swath of the country stretching from Southern California to Miami for most of the month.

It was expected to last through the weekend in the Deep South and Southeast and into next week for the Southwest, the National Weather Service said.

Some 80 million Americans should see temperatures or heat indices above 105 Fahrenheit (40.5 Celsius) at some point in the coming days, with dozens of record high temperatures possible, the service said.

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Phoenix recorded its 21st straight day with temperatures 110F or higher, reaching 111F shortly after midday on Thursday with an expected high of 117F (47C), extending its record streak above 110F. On Tuesday the city broke its all-time record warm low temperature with 97F. The previous record of 96F was set in 2003.

In Death Valley, California, site of the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth - 134F (56.7C) in July 1913 - a 71-year-old man died on Tuesday afternoon when the high reached 121F (49C), the National Park Service said in a statement. It may be the second heat-related fatality in Death Valley this summer, the Park Service said. A 65-year-old man died on July 3.

THUNDERSTORMS

Strong thunderstorms ripped through western Missouri, southern Illinois and northern Kentucky on Thursday morning. The storms produced large hail stones, reportedly the size of ping pong balls, and 60 mph (97 kph) winds.

Similar severe thunderstorms were expected to pop up throughout the day in the U.S. Plains and the Tennessee Valley where a cold front was meeting the hot and humid air to the south.

The storms could cause damaging winds, large hail, tornadoes and flash flooding, the National Weather Service said.

POWER OUTAGES

In western Tennessee, about 52,000 homes and businesses remained without power after strong thunderstorms knocked down power lines and trees late on Tuesday and early on Wednesday, according to poweroutage.us.

FLOODING

Northern New York state and Vermont were under a flood watch with scattered yet powerful thunderstorms expected to roll through the area on Friday, a week after heavy rains caused widespread flooding.

Rainfall may exceed more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) per hour, causing flash flooding. Waterways remain high or near record levels and the ground remains saturated from previous storms, the National Weather Service said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Frances Kerry and Sandra Maler)