{"id":22358,"date":"2024-08-23T16:04:09","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T16:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=789795"},"modified":"2024-08-23T16:04:09","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T16:04:09","slug":"texas-and-southwest-face-scorching-heat-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2024\/08\/23\/texas-and-southwest-face-scorching-heat-wave\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas and Southwest Face Scorching Heat Wave"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-default-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2024\/08\/23\/789795.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2024\/08\/23\/789795.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) \u2014 Summer heat scorched Texas and the Southwest this week, pushing Phoenix to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/extreme-heat-southwest-39d90336df2a5033f744eaedccdbfcc1\">nearly 90 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures<\/a> and putting millions of people under excessive heat warnings.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, energy demand in Texas hit an unofficial all-time high Tuesday, according to data from the state\u2019s grid operator.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>A major heat alert is in place for Texas, reflecting what the weather service called \u201crare and\/or long-duration extreme heat with little to no overnight relief.\u201d An extreme heat alert was issued for eastern New Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>This area of high pressure, sometimes referred to as a heat dome, is a slow moving, upper-level high pressure system of stable air and a deep layer of high temperatures, meteorologist Bryan Jackson said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is usually sunny, the sun is beating down, it is hot and the air is contained there,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cThere are dozen or so sites that are setting daily records \u2026 mostly over Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Record high temperatures were expected in cities such as Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Amarillo. In Phoenix, monsoon rains have provided brief respites since Sunday, although daytime highs continue to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius).<\/p>\n<p>The dome was expected to move into western Oklahoma and eastern New Mexico beginning Saturday, then into the mid-Mississippi Valley, where it was forecast to weaken slightly, Jackson said.<\/p>\n<p>About 14.7 million people are under an excessive heat warning, with heat indexes expected at 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) and above. Another 10 million people were under a heat advisory.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>In Fort Worth, Texas, hundreds in August have sought emergency care due to the heat, according to MedStar ambulance. The service responded to 286 heat-related calls during the first 20 days of August, about 14 per day, compared to about 11 per day in August 2023, according to public information officer Desiree Partain.<\/p>\n<p>Austin-Travis County EMS Capt. Christa Stedman said calls about heat-related illness in the area around the Texas state Capitol since April 1 are up by about one per day compared with a year ago, though July was somewhat milder this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe vast majority of what we see is heat exhaustion, which is good because we catch it before it\u2019s heat stroke, but it\u2019s bad because people are not listening to the red flags,\u201d such as heat cramps in the arms, legs or stomach warning that the body is becoming too hot, Stedman said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the record heat in Texas, residents haven\u2019t been asked to cut back on their energy use like in years prior. This contrasts with the 11 conservation notices issued last year. One reason is that the agency, which manages Texas\u2019 independent energy grid and deregulated providers, has improved the grid\u2019s capabilities to better control supply and demand, Doug Lewin, an energy consultant and president of Stoic Energy said.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas\u2019 criteria for when to notify residents to conserve energy has also changed, Lewin said, because they\u2019re ineffective and unpopular.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re seeing all that much reduction when they give notices,\u201d Lewin said of ERCOT. In fact public uproar against the conservation warnings has led to the agency sending fewer of them, he continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are many factors that ERCOT operations take into consideration when determining the need to issue conservation, case by case depending on conditions at the time,\u201d communications manager Trudi Webster said on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a hot summer, but this one does stand out in terms of extremes,\u201d said Jackson, the meteorologist.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, about <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/8474fce2ccf3ea6b0974340f12ff804f\">100 people were sickened<\/a> and 10 were hospitalized due to extreme heat at a Colorado air show and at least <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/ec90c868260c587bd28e84d8d8f4730e\">two people have died<\/a> due to the heat in California\u2019s Death Valley National Park.<\/p>\n<p>Globally, a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/8dde22d29ae273544ab5c2c24071d00b\">string of 13 straight months<\/a> with a new average heat record came to an end this <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/us-heat-wave-dangerous-temperatures-e1b875ae9d6e72afd179061e34153f8e\">past July<\/a> as the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/el-nino-climate-global-warming-world-weather-6eb70f36ce098d931cfcdb82590c4066\">natural El Nino climate pattern<\/a> ebbed, the European climate agency Copernicus announced Thursday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"copyright-notice lite\">Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/div>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/location\/texas\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Texas<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"789795\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.<\/p>\n<p> <textarea placeholder=\"Enter your feedback...\"><\/textarea> <button type=\"submit\" class=\"submit\" disabled>Submit<\/button> <button class=\"cancel\">No Thanks<\/button> <\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-yes\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! <span class=\"percent\"><\/span>% of people found this article valuable. 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