The Summer 2006 North American heat wave was a severe heat wave that affected most of the United States and Canada, killing at least 225 people and bringing extreme heat to many locations. At least three died in Philadelphia, Arkansas, and Indiana.Nation Swelters In Heat Wave CBS News, July 18, 2006. In Maryland, the state health officials reported that three people died of heat-related causes., Baltimore Sun, July 18, 2006, afternoon edition (note: this story includes heat related deaths for July 14 and 16). Another heat related death was suspected in Chicago.Sizzling weather puts heat on ComEd Chicago Sun Times, July 18, 2006. ("A 50-year-old woman who was found unresponsive by her landlady in the 4800 block of North Troy was suspected of dying from heat complications, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.")
Although many heat related deaths go unreported, by July 19, the Associated Press reported that the soaring heat was blamed for 12 deaths from Oklahoma City to the Philadelphia area.Heat wave blamed for 11 deaths, Colleen Long, Associated Press, appearing in the Houston Chronicle, July 19, 2006, 10 am.Heat Wave Ebbs in Parts of U.S., Colleen Long, Associated Press, appearing in Forbes, July 19, 2006, 1 pm. Reports by early morning July 20 raised the death toll to at least 16 in seven states.Heat wave's death toll rises to at least 16, Shaun Schafer, Associated Press, as reported in the Houston Chronicle, 5 am (this article gives better location references).
This period of heat also saw a wind storm (derecho) in St. Louis that caused widespread power outages, including for cooling centers designed to provide relief for those suffering from the heat. In addition, places on the West Coast, like California's Central Valley and Southern California experienced humid heat, which is unusual for the area.BAY AREA: Don't pack up the shorts yet: Heat still on. Sweltering conditions forecast to continue through weekend, with no relief in sight for days , Michael Cabanatuan and Cicero A. Estrella, San Francisco Chronicle, July 22, 2006.The heat wave that was, S.F. Chronicle, July 27, 2006 (75 California deaths + 25 non-Cal.)
Mortality By July 21, when the first phase of this heat wave came to an end, 22 reported fatalities had occurred in ten states.Guard to St. Louis; Heat Deaths Rise, Jim Salter, Associated Press, retrieved from ABC News, July 21, 2006, am; same story appeared in the Kansas City Star, with more details, death toll described as "nearly two dozen", noting death of homeless man, two without air conditioning. Reports of deaths trailed off over the week-end of July 21–23, though high temperatures persisted and power outages remained in a number of areas including New York, Missouri, and Illinois. In St. Louis, half the city was without power due to severe thunderstorms, prompting requests for volunteer nurses to help cope with the situation. Though temperatures were somewhat cooler,Battered St. Louis seeks volunteer nurses, Jim Salter, Associated Press, appearing in the Houston Chronicle, July 22, 2006. there still was at least one further reported heat death in Missouri.Cooler weather brings relief for St. Louis, Jim Salter, Associated Press, appearing in the Kansas City Star, July 22, 2006
At least 31 deaths due to the heat were reported in New York City by August 16. At least 13 died in Queens, 9 in Brooklyn, 5 in Manhattan and 1 in The Bronx. By the end of August, authorities totaled 40 deaths in New York, however a later mortality review in November 2006 revealed that heat was a factor in 140 deaths.
In the early August heat, Chicago saw at least 23 deaths, but the City was widely praised for avoiding the disaster that occurred in the 1995 Chicago heat wave which saw over 700 deaths. The City took steps to ensure vulnerable residents were protected, and individuals took responsibility for their neighbors.
By August 13, 28 heat-related deaths were reported in Cook County, which includes Chicago.
Deaths in California The most severe death toll was in California, principally in the interior region. By the end of July, the sweltering heat in California subsided, although the number of confirmed or suspected heat-related deaths climbed to 163 as county coroners worked through a backlog of cases. A report from California Climate Change Center published in 2009 determined that the heat caused two to three times the number of deaths estimated by coroners in seven California counties.Estimating The Mortality Effect Of The July 2006 California Heat Wave, California Climate Change Center, Draft March 2009. Accessed July 23, 2009. Archived 2009-07-25.
By July 25, California authorities documented at least 38 deaths related to the heat in 11 counties. Temperatures reached in the central valley of California July 23–24.Heat claims as many as 38 people, tests state energy supply Aaron Davis, Associated Press, appearing in San Jose Mercury News, July 25, 2006. (when added to 25 non-California deaths, total reaches 63.) State officials said it was the worst heat wave to hit Northern and Southern California simultaneously in 57 years.Heat wave not ready to ease up on state; Weather death toll rises to 41 -- forecast cooldown didn't kick in San Francisco Chronicle, July 26, 2006 (raises Cal. death toll to 41, total bumps to 66) Front-page newspaper coverage described some individual deaths. By July 29, the mounting death toll left the coroner's office in Fresno overwhelmed and double-stacking bodies.
There were also widespread animal deaths in California, with a veterinarian reporting 15 heat-related pet deaths as early as July 24.Heat Wave Proving Deadly for Pets, KCBS, San Leandro, Calif., posted July 24 The impact on farm animals and agriculture was also becoming apparent, with the death of more than 25,000 cattle and 700,000 fowl, prompting emergency measures by the state.California's Cattle Death Toll Surpasses 25,000 USAgNet, July 31, 2006.
Meteorology
Temperatures hit on July 21 in Phoenix, making it the hottest day since 1995 and one of the 11 hottest since 1895, when temperature records were first kept in the city. California temperatures began reaching record levels by July 22. In one section of the City of Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, the temperature reached making it the highest recorded temperature in the county and within the city border breaking the old record of in Canoga Park. The unusual daytime heat resulted in extremely high overnight temperatures. Needles, California recorded a low temperature for Sunday, July 23 at 5 am., of and in the LA basin the same night, Burbank recorded an overnight low of .High Nighttime Temperatures Set Records Too, Los Angeles Times, July 25, 2006
The California heat wave broke local records. According to some reports it was "hotter for longer than ever before, and the weather patterns that caused the scorching temperatures were positively freakish."Bay Area Record Breaking Heat, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fresno, in the central California valley, had six consecutive days of 110 degree-plus Fahrenheit temperatures.
Beginning July 31 and into early August, the Midwest, Ontario, and Atlantic states also began experiencing the heat.New York, Boston Brace for Record-Breaking Heat Wave, by Shannon D. Harrington, Bloomberg LP, August 1, 2006 Temperatures approached the 100 mark in Rochester, New York on August 1 and were coupled with the highest dew points the area has experienced in over 51 years. The heat index reached that day. La Guardia Airport in New York City recorded three consecutive days above . The temperature peaked at on August 2. Colonial Downs, a horse track in New Kent County, Virginia, canceled horse racing because of the heat. The Saratoga Race Course, north of Albany, canceled racing at the horse track for the first time in its history on August 2. By August 8, the heat wave had passed for most areas, but persisted in the South and Southeast, with continued reports of mortality in Oklahoma.
Timeline The heat wave went through several distinct periods: From July 15 to 22 very high temperatures spread across most all of the United States and Canada. On Monday, July 17, every state except Alaska, Minnesota, and North Dakota recorded temperatures of or greater. North Dakota had recorded a temperature of the previous day.National Weather Service Climate, Bismarck, N.D. On July 15, South Dakota has tied its record high temperature of near Fort Pierre with the previous state record set on July 5, 1936. From July 23 to 29 the abnormal heat was concentrated in the West coast and South West deserts. 164 fatalities were reported in California during this period. From July 29 to August 4 the heat wave moved eastward, causing further fatalities as it progressed. From August 4 to 27, high temperatures persisted in the South and Southeast United States.Heat wave continued for parts of South, Murray Evans, Associated Press, as reported in the Houston Chronicle, August 7, 2006. The heat wave finally ended with the progression of a cold front through the Southern Plains.
Effects on infrastructure Dallas, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; the New England region; and other areas reported damage to physical infrastructure such as ruptured water lines and buckled roads. The heat wave has been blamed for the damage. Interstate 44 had two traffic lanes temporarily closed in Oklahoma City after they buckled under the heat. In addition, overworked power transformers have been damaged or rendered useless because of the heat, resulting in blackouts, notably in St. Louis, Missouri; Queens, New York; Los Angeles, California; and the Delaware Valley. Some wildfires, including forest fires, and greater thunderstorm intensity, have both been blamed on the heat wave.
Parts of California were without power from hours to days when infrastructure failed, such as when electrical transformers in northern California caught fire due to inadequate cooling. In Los Angeles, electrical transformers also failed, leaving thousands without power for as long as five days.
Canadian heat Parts of Canada, mostly areas of provinces located close to the U.S. border (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) had been affected in waves by the persistent heat over the continent building from west to east during the month of July, which progressed into August 2006. Persistent heat and drought had plagued some of the same regions of the country during the previous summers of 2002, 2003, and 2005, although large, frequent storms brought above normal rainfall to many areas in Ontario and Quebec during those years.
By mid-month, temperatures had soared to at Lytton, British Columbia, with three straight days topping . Although various daily records were broken, the only overall monthly record in a major city was in Winnipeg, Manitoba where July was not only the driest on record but also had the highest average maximum temperature of any July. In Val Marie, Saskatchewan, the average daily maximum July temperature was , about higher than average.
Just north of Toronto at Buttonville Airport, the temperature reached on August 2, 2006. On the same day, the nighttime minimum temperature in Toronto was the highest ever recorded, only dropping to . In Ottawa, the temperature reached , but with close to 80% humidity factored in, it reached an all-time humidex record of .
Record power consumption was recorded in Ontario when close to 27,000 MW were used by consumers, beating out a record from the previous summer.