PHOENIX (AP) — Extreme heat spread across Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas, Colorado and Kansas as severe weather swept across many parts of the U.S. on Sunday. There was unseasonable cold in the Pacific Northwest, snow headed to the northern Rocky Mountains and heavy rainfall forecast from the northern Plains to the Upper Midwest.
The National Weather Service estimated that more than 63 million people were under heat advisories on Sunday, stretching from the Southwest northward up through Denver and into Chicago.
Temperatures in Phoenix, which hit 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 Celsius) on Saturday, eased slightly on Sunday to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celcius). Weather service forecasters say the first two weeks of June in Phoenix already have been an average of 5.6 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than normal, making it the hottest start to June on record.
“We have already seen some pretty significantly high temperatures in our area,” said Ted Whittock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix. “We are recommending that everyone reduce their time outdoors between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., stay hydrated and wear light, looser fitting clothing.”