Washington Post by Matthew Cappucci, Jason Samenow, Tamia Fowlkes
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/texas-is-in-the-thick-of-a-brutal-and-prolonged-heat-wave/ar-AA1cGog3 Parts of Texas and southern Louisiana are feeling like a steam room amid a dangerous heat wave that’s set to last more than a week. Blistering heat and stifling humidity have already combined to push the heat index above 120 degrees in spots, posing a significant danger to vulnerable populations and those without adequate access to cooler environments.
The Lone Star State broke heat records on Thursday and Friday, and many more are expected to fall over the coming days.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said at a news conference Saturday that he spoke with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the organization that operates the state’s electrical grid, ahead of the heat wave. Officials there assured him they could meet what “may be a record power demand” as Texas residents try to cool their homes, Abbott said.
Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories affect more than 40 million people this weekend. The warnings, which are the most dire type of heat alert the National Weather Service issues, extend from the border of Mexico and southwest Texas to the border of southern Louisiana and Mississippi. Population centers in the warning zone include Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Galveston and Lufkin in Texas and New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Alexandria in Louisiana.
