Heat dome scorches US: Where will records be broken?

(NEXSTAR) – Communities in the central and eastern United States are feeling the effects of a potentially-deadly, record-breaking heat wave Wednesday.

The extreme heat will be all the more dangerous as it mixes with high humidity arriving ahead of the July Fourth holiday.

In some places, the heat index – a measure of the apparent temperature that factors in humidity – could climb between 105 and 115 F, according to Nexstar Chief Meteorologist Brian James. By Tuesday, heat indices in the Midwest and South had already climbed into triple digits, with cities like Chicago and Minneapolis seeing readings well above 100°F.

Forecasters say several days of high temperatures (not indices) — some above 100 degrees F — will settle in across the lower Great Lakes, the mid-Atlantic and the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Some record highs could be set in areas from the lower Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic and New England later in the week, said National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist........

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