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This image provided by the

National Weather Service shows
temperatures in the continental
United States as of 3 p.m. on
Friday. The National Weather
Service forecasts that on Monday
nearly all of the Lower 48 states
could hit 95 on the heat index
somewhere, which factors in
humidity. The weather service
outlook for the next three
months shows above normal
temperatures across the country.
National Weather Service via AP

Merciless heat, humidity

sticks to nearly all of US
By Friday afternoon, all but one of
the Lower 48 states had hit 90
degrees somewhere
By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP ScienceWriter

ABOVE: A lone plane sits inside a damaged hangar Saturday, July 16, at the Meade airport. The hangar
was just one of many places that sustained significant wreckage after a storm containing winds as high as
117 miles per hour passed through that community on Friday, July 15.

FRONT PAGE: The press box at the football stadium lies in front of the bleachers after it was blown down
from atop the seats last Friday. Meade City Administrator Dean Cordes said clean up efforts in the
community are coming along well, and life in Meade should soon be back to normal. L&T photos/Robert Pierce

Meade ...
O Continued from Page 1A
Our adjuster was here over the
weekend and looked at all of our
property that were city-owned, and
I have not gotten a total back from
him, he said.
Cordes did describe some of the
major damage suffered throughout
Meade that Friday evening.
One privately-owned hangar at
the airport was completely
destroyed, he said. We had significant damage to our city-owned
hangar. I have not got a value on
the amount of damage there. We
had two planes that were damaged
that were privately-owned. Weve
had some damage to some other
buildings that the city owns, but it
was pretty minor. We had a hole
punctured in our Girl Scout cabin
from a tree limb. That was probably
the most significant damage that
we had other than to our hangars.
The rest of the damage sustained
in the storm, Cordes said, was
minor. He said trees throughout
town did get significant damage,
but a lot of those have been getting
picked up in the week since the
storm took place.
The city crews have been going
around picking up tree limbs, he
said. Weve made one pass around
town. Were finishing our first pass
up today. Weve got to go through
and do all the alleys. Were going to
go around and make another pass
around the streets again. Well be
picking up tree branches clear up
until next week. Were just putting
those by our water tower, and at the
south end of town, theres another

property we have. We have the task

of hauling all that out to the landfill.
Its going to be a mess.
Cordes said last Fridays storm
was likely the worst he had seen in
the town of Meade.
Weve had some others, but they
dont compare to this, he said.
The City of Meade entity also
provides electric service for its
residents, and Cordes said after the
storm, six power poles had to be
replaced. This is just some of the
work city employees and others
have been doing since last Friday.
Weve had a number of electric
meters that were pulled down
because of tree branches, he said.
We are still in the process of
getting all those secured back to
houses. I think we will finish that
up (Wednesday, July 20), and then
its the task of getting all the trees.
We still have a number of tree
branches on power lines that go
from our power pole to the house.
Well start on that (Thursday, July
21).
Cordes said those in the
community of Meade have been
good about helping with the clean
up, as have those from surrounding
towns.
In fact, we had a couple of
teams from the Montezuma area
that came down and helped out on
Saturday (July 16), he said. In
one days period, they got a lot of
work done. They got after it. The
last couple days, we had a local
farmer that came in with one of his
tractors that had a grapple on the
bucket of his tractor. He was able
to help us a lot with just getting
some of the bigger stuff picked up.
That helps us a bunch by doing
this.
Cordes added Meade residents
have also been good about getting
trees cut up and hauled to the citys
water tower. They, he said, have

likewise been very understanding

about the situation as a whole.
They realize its going to take us
a while to get it cleaned up, he
said.
Cordes said the support from
outside of Meade has been great as
well.
Ive had some calls from some
other administrators that were
willing to help, he said. We didnt
feel like, with what we had, that we
needed that quite yet. The foreman
for the road and bridge department
here in Meade County, they volunteered their help. People have been
very generous with their offer to
help.
Cordes said the efforts shown by
Meade residents and city workers
and people in neighboring cities
and counties shows a lot about the
hearts and spirit of area people.
It just goes to show that when
something happens, people are
willing to help out any way they can
and basically, just get to work and
get it done, he said.
Cordes said that attitude extends
much further than just the small
town of Meade.
Its all of Western Kansas, he
said. We grew up kind of having to
do it ourselves. People, when
something like this happens,
theyre willing to get out there and
do the work themselves and get it
done. Its such a nice thing.
Cordes said since last Friday,
there has been a lot of work done,
and he believes with a little more,
Meade will be restored to what it
was before the storm.
The citizens, my city crews, they
have just gone above and beyond,
he said. They have worked a lot of
hours lately. Ive really been proud
of what they have accomplished
over these last five days too. Its
been a lot of work, but weve made
a lot of progress too.

WASHINGTON Call it the United Sweats of

America. A heat wave spreading across the country is
leaving few places to hide. Not even the cool of night.
By Friday afternoon, all but one of the Lower 48
states had hit 90 degrees somewhere, with only
Washington around for cooler comfort. For much of
the country, it was expected to get even worse over
the weekend.
Its just day after day. Merciless, said Jeff Masters,
meteorology director of the private Weather Underground. We dont often see this much of the country
this hot for this length of time.
And while the extra hot weather will ease a bit next
week for good chunks of the country, the temperature
forecast for the next three months isnt exactly
promising, according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
For the first time in more than 20 years, the
Climate Prediction Center map is shades of one
color: orange for above normal temperatures.
The map usually varies, showing places where there
is a greater chance for above or below normal temperatures or equal chances. But the outlook for August,
September and October is for above normal everywhere.
Center climate scientist Dan Collins said the
centers archives go back to 1995 and theyve never
seen this for the entire United States including
Alaska and Hawaii. That doesnt mean a three-month
heat wave, just on average warmer than normal
temperatures through October.

Unusual indeed, Collins said. But maybe less so

as the years pass.
Scientists havent calculated if man-made global
warming from the burning of fossil fuels is a factor in
the current heat wave, but said it has been a factor in
most recent ones and a good chance here, too.
Whats happening now is a ridge of high pressure
has just spread over almost the entire United States.
That keeps clouds and cooling away, and just pushes
warm air down.
Add to that the humidity, which makes everything
feel stickier. Its coming with warmer ocean water,
especially from a hotter-than-normal Gulf of Mexico,
Masters said.
The high heat and humidity will move from the
Corn Belt toward the Southeast over the weekend,
according to the National Weather Service.
On Monday, the weather service forecasts that
nearly all of the Lower 48 states could hit 95 on the
heat index , which factors in humidity. And about 30
states are forecast to hit 100.
The high temperature averaged for the Lower 48
states was 92 degrees on both Thursday and Friday,
the warmest since June of 2012, said meteorologist
Ryan Maue of the private WeatherBell Analytics
service.
Not even the cool of night is helping because
temperatures arent dropping as much as they
normally do. Thats a health issue because the human
body relies on the evening coolness for relief, said
Greg Carbin, a forecast chief for the weather services
Weather Prediction Center.
Heat waves like this one are kinda like the home
run statistic in steroid-fueled baseball, University of
Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd
said in an email. Sure heat waves always happened
naturally (like home runs in baseball) but the statistics
are shifting to make them more likely and more
frequent within a warmer background climate.

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