Weekend of Broiling Heat Expected in US West, Southeast

A man floats on the San Francisco Bay off the coast of Alameda Beach to cool off during a heat wave as temperatures reach over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 degrees Celsius) in Alameda, California, US, July 3, 2024. REUTERS/Emily Steinberger/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man floats on the San Francisco Bay off the coast of Alameda Beach to cool off during a heat wave as temperatures reach over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 degrees Celsius) in Alameda, California, US, July 3, 2024. REUTERS/Emily Steinberger/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Weekend of Broiling Heat Expected in US West, Southeast

A man floats on the San Francisco Bay off the coast of Alameda Beach to cool off during a heat wave as temperatures reach over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 degrees Celsius) in Alameda, California, US, July 3, 2024. REUTERS/Emily Steinberger/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man floats on the San Francisco Bay off the coast of Alameda Beach to cool off during a heat wave as temperatures reach over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 degrees Celsius) in Alameda, California, US, July 3, 2024. REUTERS/Emily Steinberger/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Dangerously hot conditions will dominate over the rest of the long Independence Day weekend in much of the US West Coast, Southeast and Middle Atlantic seaboard, forecasters said on Friday, as California firefighters battled one of the first big wildfires of the season.

Around 108 million Americans will spend the remainder of the weekend under excessive heat advisories, with record-breaking temperatures forecast for many spots in California, southern Oregon and the Southwest, the National Weather Service said.

The West Coast will hover 15 to 30 degrees above average, reaching 110 Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) on Friday.

"Expect only subtle changes to our daily high temperatures through the weekend," the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, Arizona, said on X.

"Where did you go, monsoon? Hurry back," it said, referring to a recent bout of torrential rain in the area, which is usually bone-dry this time of year.

Some of the hottest spots will include Phoenix where it will be 115 F (46 C), Washington D.C. where it is expected to climb to 100 F (38 C), and Palm Springs, California, where it will reach 119 F (48 C). That is almost three times as hot as it will be in Yellowstone National Park in Montana, where the forecast was for temperatures to dip to 37 F on Friday night.

The weather service urged people to stay hydrated, out of the sunlight, and in buildings with sufficient air-conditioning.

Stifling heat will also prevail from Mississippi to Florida, and north along the Eastern Seaboard to Pennsylvania, where temperatures will reach past 100 F (37 C).

The National Weather Service warned that hot overnight conditions across the Mississippi Valley could lead to "a dangerous situation for those without access to adequate cooling".

Hot, dry and windy conditions in the West were forcing fire officials and forecasters to issue warnings about the risk of wildfires.

According to Reuters, the so-called Thompson Fire in Butte County, California, about 65 miles (105 km) north of Sacramento, has scorched almost 6 square miles (16 square kilometers) of scrub and brush since it started on Tuesday.

As of Friday morning, the fire was 46% contained after forcing some 13,000 households to evacuate.

Most evacuation orders were lifted early on Friday morning as firefighters made progress controlling the blaze, which had damaged or destroyed about 30 structures, fire officials said.

Southern Texas faces a different sort of threat early next week when remnants of Hurricane Beryl are expected to dump heavy rains on the region.

Beryl, the first hurricane of the season, made landfall in Mexico on Friday after killing 11 people as it carved a path of destruction across the Caribbean earlier this week.



Humpback Whale Briefly Swallows Kayaker in Chilean Patagonia

A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
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Humpback Whale Briefly Swallows Kayaker in Chilean Patagonia

A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)

A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off Chilean Patagonia before quickly releasing him unharmed. The incident, caught on camera, quickly went viral as one of the most remarkable footage in Chile in recent years.

Last Saturday, Adrián Simancas was kayaking with his father, Dell, in Bahía El Águila near the San Isidro Lighthouse in the Strait of Magellan when a humpback whale surfaced, engulfing Adrián and his yellow kayak for a few seconds before letting him go.

Dell, just meters away, captured the moment on video while encouraging his son to stay calm.

“Stay calm, stay calm,” he can be heard saying after his son was released from the whale’s mouth.

“I thought I was dead,” Adrián told The Associated Press. “I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”

He described the “terror” of those few seconds and explained that his real fear set in only after resurfacing, fearing that the huge animal would hurt his father or that he would perish in the frigid waters.

Despite the terrifying experience, Dell remained focused, filming and reassuring his son while grappling with his own worry.

“When I came up and started floating, I was scared that something might happen to my father too, that we wouldn’t reach the shore in time, or that I would get hypothermia,” Adrián said.

After a few seconds in the water, Adrián managed to reach his father’s kayak and was quickly assisted. Despite the scare, both returned to shore uninjured.

Located about 1,600 miles (3,000 kilometers) south of Santiago, Chile’s capital, the Strait of Magellan is a major tourist attraction in the Chilean Patagonia, known for adventure activities.

Its frigid waters pose a challenge for sailors, swimmers and explorers who attempt to cross it in different ways.

Although it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere, temperatures in the region remain cool, with minimums dropping to 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) and highs rarely exceeding 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius.)

While whale attacks on humans are extremely rare in Chilean waters, whale deaths from collisions with cargo ships have increased in recent years, and strandings have become a recurring issue in the last decade.