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These sweltering summer months are impossible to get through without a little air conditioning. Using cross ventilation can supercharge your cooling setup during milder weather, but during blazing hot spells, only a highly functional AC will do. Air conditioning units need to be cleaned just like other appliances, and putting it off will cause that precious machine to putter along and waste expensive energy while doing so.

While the summertime is quite hot across the interior of the western United States in the valleys, basins and deserts, the heat will soon go above and beyond what is typical. AccuWeather meteorologists continue to warn of dangerous heat that will build through at least the first weekend of July over the interior Southwest and into mid-July over the interior West. "Extreme temperatures will crescendo into the weekend as a northward bulge in the jet stream strengthens over the region," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr said. "At its peak, afternoon high temperatures will be around 20 degrees above average in...

Floodwaters forced people out of their homes in parts of Iowa, the result of weeks of rain, while much of the United States longed for relief Saturday from yet another round of extraordinary heat. Sirens blared at 2 a.m. in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 4,200, where people in hundreds of homes were told to get out as the Rock River could no longer take rain that has slammed the region. The city lacked running water because wells were unusable. Mayor Kevin Van Otterloo said a state helicopter was on its way to help but was called off when boats were...

Temperatures will build to their highest marks in years across the Midwest and Northeast and stay at sizzling levels for days as Mother Nature cranks up the heat ahead of astronomical summer, which begins Thursday, June 20, at 4:50 p.m. EDT. AccuWeather's long-range team has been sounding the alarm for more than a week on building heat in the East during the third week of June that would put millions at the mercy of a prolonged stretch of 90-degree Fahrenheit temperatures. The longevity of the intense heat will put additional strain on residents and electrical infrastructure. For many in the...

Highs soaring toward the middle 90s will spread from the southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley into the Northeast during the first half of this week. This heat will persist through the end of the week in many of these same areas. Widespread d​aily record highs will be set into Saturday. A few cities that could set new records at times through Saturday include Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Hartford and Burlington. Dew points will also increase, meaning it will feel sticky and humid. When the humidity is added to the hotter-than-average temperatures, feels-like temperatures will be even higher. In...

A dangerous, widespread heat wave is predicted to unfold for millions across the Northeast, Midwest and parts of Canada this week with AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures even eclipsing the 100-degree Fahrenheit mark in some cities. "The increased demand for cooling is going to be a problem here. This could have some impacts on the power grid," AccuWeather Chief Video Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. In the Midwest and Northeast, a heat wave is considered to be at least three days with a high temperature of at least 90 degrees, and for some areas, the mercury will exceed that benchmark for most or...

The first extended stretch of summertime heat and humidity is on the way to the Northeast with temperatures expected to challenge records during the second half of June. Before that happens, AccuWeather meteorologists are expecting a round of intense thunderstorms in the region that could impact travel and outdoor plans just as the weekend gets underway. The risk of strong storms will come on Friday in the East, following a few active days in the nation's midsection. As a cold front moves east clashing with very warm and humid air, thunderstorms will form and can turn severe, producing a variety...

The pattern for the northeastern United States will be a 'tale of two weeks' as low humidity and cool to seasonable air much of this week are replaced with surging heat this weekend and the first heat wave of the season for millions next week, AccuWeather meteorologists say. Opportunities for rain will be limited, a switch from much of the spring. The upcoming weather will provide some great conditions for summertime activity beginning late this week and continuing through much of next week. For some individuals without air conditioning, though, the upcoming building heat may become a problem. A dip...

The first widespread heat wave for the western United States is building and will last through the end of the week. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that heat and dryness will boost the risk of wildfires in some situations. The combination of a bulge in the jet stream, high pressure building at most levels of the atmosphere and a storm offshore of California will allow the heat to build without any shower or thunderstorm activity for about 50 million people in the West. The National Weather Service defines a heat wave as a period of abnormally hot weather, with or without high...

TABASCO, Mexico – Heat-stressed, endangered howler monkeys are dropping out of trees and dying across Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico, as the third relentless heat wave this season bakes the region. Conservation and rescue groups have made impassioned pleas for villagers to leave fresh water in the jungle for the heat-sickened primates. One group, COBIUS, reported "massive deaths." COBIUS told Reuters that at least 100 monkeys have died so far. Civil Protection officers said villagers have gathered the bodies in mass graves and covered them with lime for disposal, with few other options.

Two people have died in the wildfires ravaging Louisiana as residents and leaders are desperate for rain to help quell the blazes. An 84-year-old woman in St. Tammany Parish was found unconscious Sunday when an official noticed a brush fire on her property, the Louisiana Illuminator reported Monday. The victim was taken to a hospital in New Orleans, where she died. Hers was the second fatality in recent weeks attributed to the state’s wildfires. “Although temperatures are expected to back down slightly from record levels this week, the forecast still doesn’t call for substantial rain — which first responders have...

The State of California is depending on fossil fuels, especially natural gas, to provide electricity during the ongoing summer heat wave, as solar and wind energy are unable to meet demand during peak demand evening hours, especially as the sun begins to set. Fox News reports: The state of California continues to rely heavily upon fossil fuel-fired power plants to ensure its residents and businesses have access to reliable electricity amid the ongoing heat wave. According to data compiled by the California Independent System Operator, more than 40% of the state’s total power grid supply derived from natural gas on...

Locals bake cookies in CARS and complain of melting roads Searing heatwave is forecast to bring 110F temps to Phoenix for 30th day today Even Arizona's hardy Saguaro cactuses are dying in the blistering heat Temps are hot enough to melt dog toys, bake cookies in cars, and soften roads A searing heat wave that continues to blister much of the US is so hot that even Arizona's iconic cactuses are dying off. In Phoenix, Saturday is forecast to be the 30th consecutive day with high temperatures above 110F, a streak that has shattered all records for the city, with...

“Even those places that are used to extreme heat have never seen it as hot as it is now for as long as it's been,'' Biden said. “Even those who deny that we’re in the midst of a climate crisis can’t deny the impact of extreme heat is having on Americans.'' Biden's bid to address the immediate effects of climate change come as he faces pressure from fellow Democrats and environmental groups to declare a climate "emergency,'' a step he has so far resisted. The steps announced Thursday supplement his long-term agenda for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and deploying clean...

The hysteria was started when climate sensationalist media outlets in Germany and elsewhere, like the Relotius Spiegel, uncritically cited a sloppily and manipulatively formulated July 13 report from the European Space Agency (ESA), that first referred to “air” temperature: "Temperatures are sizzling across Europe this week amid an intense and prolonged period of heat. And it’s only just begun. Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with air temperatures expected to climb to 48°C on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.” The original ESA report continued,...

New York (CNN) — Consumers are snapping up air conditioners, ice makers, pool floats and other goods to help them cool down in response to a brutal heat wave in the United States. On Amazon, sales of air conditioners increased 248% during the 30 days ending July 14, according to data from Jungle Scout, a data and analytics platform for Amazon sellers. Sales for fans grew 60%. Searches on Amazon for “single room AC units” and “portable misting fans” also spiked triple digits during the period, according to Jungle Scout. On Wednesday morning, a sun shade for car windshields was...

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Tourists in central Athens huddled under mist machines and zoo animals in Madrid were fed fruit popsicles Thursday as southern Europeans suffered through a heat wave that was projected to get much worse heading into the weekend. Temperatures in parts of Mediterranean Europe were forecast to reach as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) starting Friday. The high-pressure system affecting the region, which crossed the Mediterranean from north Africa, has been named Cerberus after the three-headed dog in ancient Greek mythology who guarded the gates to the underworld. Cerberus is being tracked by the European...

As the southwestern United States endures an oppressive heat wave that has produced triple-digit temperatures in many areas this week, experts say records could soon fall. Among them: the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high temperature of 130 to 132 degrees in California’s Death Valley on Sunday. If that occurs, it would “either tie or break [the] record for the hottest temperature reliably measured on Earth,” says Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

It’s apparently hotter than hell in the Texas prison where Josh Duggar is serving his 151-month sentence. FCI Seagoville in Texas, where the 35-year-old convicted sex offender and former “19 Kids and Counting” star is doing time, reportedly has “no air conditioning” and is resulting in inmates “passing out.” “Texas is having record-breaking heatwaves. Most of the buildings in Seagoville don’t have air conditioning for the inmates,” a Seagoville inmate’s loved one told the Sun on Wednesday about the all-male prison. Last week, temperatures in Seagoville were in the 90s and even topped 100 degrees. There is currently an excessive...

@JStein_WaPo Scoop: White House weighs declaring national climate emergency as soon as this week, per sources, as collapse of talks w/ Manchin leads admin to explore raft of unilateral options