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| NOAA satallites monitor record-breaking heat wave. Graphic: Albi |
A large heat dome spread across the United States in late July, affecting parts of the Midwest, Southwest, Central U.S. and East Coast, stretching from the Southeast to the Northeast.
On July 18, only 30 million people, about 9% of the country, were under active National Weather Service extreme heat advisories, watches, and warnings, according to a 30-day extreme heat tracker on heat.gov.
The heat gradually rose within a week, with a peak of 128 million people, nearly 40% of the country, being under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings on July 24.
The National Weather Service issued “Key Messages for Mid to Late July Heat Wave” on July 24, forecasting into the following week.
The Weather Service forecasted that unusual heat and humidity would remain in place for several states in the middle of the country and would build across the Southeast and mid-South, becoming persistent and dangerous.
It also forecasted a “long duration heat wave, with little to no overnight relief and high humidity levels,” leading to an increased danger due to temperatures 110-115 degrees and higher.
More than 100 million people faced scorching heat with triple-digit temperatures, according to AccuWeather. The outlet forecasted temperatures 5-15 degrees above the historical average, with highs of 95 or higher, and two weeks of triple-digit temperatures from Texas to parts of Tennessee, including Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Fields of maturing corn only added to the heat dome, as the evaporation of moisture from corn stalks caused humidity levels to spike. Weather experts refer to this as “corn sweat.”
“Corn actually produces humidity, if you will, or moisture that wicks off the plant on average about 4,000 gallons per acre [per day],” Mark Baker, a farmer, told AccuWeather.
States part of the Corn Belt, the region of the U.S. where corn crops dominate, include Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas. The combination of corn sweat and the already sweltering heat dome caused temperatures in the central states to spike up to 115 degrees.
The humidity from corn sweat is “like being fully clothed in a sauna or steam room,” Iowa state climatologist Justin Glisan said, according to The Washington Post.
The National Weather Service describes heat as “the leading weather-related killer in the United States.” Young children and infants, older adults, people with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heat.
“Extreme heat also impacts our infrastructure—from transportation to utilities to clean water and agriculture. High heat can deteriorate and buckle pavement, warp or buckle railway tracks, and exceed certain types of aircraft operational limits,” according to the weather service.
Extreme heat also strains the electrical grid due to increased electricity usage and strains water resources due to the requirement of large quantities of water for cooling, crops and hydration.
To stay safe during a heatwave, the National Weather Service advises people to slow down on outdoor activities, to wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing and to minimize direct exposure to the sun.
The weather service also advises to eat light, easy-to-digest foods such as fruit, drink plenty of water, even if you don’t feel thirsty, and to use air conditioners and portable electric fans.
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, has warned America for decades of extreme weather events brought on by Allah’s (God’s) Wrath at America’s treatment of the once-enslaved Black man and woman.
“America has mistreated the Black man for four hundred years and she does not think that there is ever a God Who will accept her Black slave and return on her head the injustice done to her Black slave,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote in Chapter 34 of His book, “The Fall of America,” titled, “The Judgment of America.”
“America your day has come for the evil done to your Black slave,” He wrote.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, has followed in his teacher’s footsteps, warning America of God’s continuous wrath and divine judgment if she does not repent for the evil she has committed.
“When you look at the weather, and you see tornadoes; you see storms, you see drought. … You see wind like we’ve never seen it; cold like we haven’t seen it; heat like we haven’t seen it,” Minister said in a message titled, “Guidance in a Time of Trouble,” delivered on May 27, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.
“Food dying in the fields because the heat is burning them up; the cattle dying, looking up at the sun, gritting their teeth, because there’s nothing to feed the cattle. Soon, famine is going to be in the land—you can take it or leave it,” Minister Farrakhan continued.
He warned Black people: “‘Guidance in a Time of Trouble’ is to tell you that if you don’t make a right decision today, then we’re going to suffer even greater loss.”
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