Nine Dead In Southern Texas County Amid Historic Heat Wave

Topline

Nine people have died in the last eight days because of heat-related illnesses in Webb County, Texas, as power use in the state reached an all-time high amid scorching temperatures that have put nearly 90 million people nationwide under heat alerts.

An electric generator field is seen at the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center on June 20, 2023 in … [+] Austin, Texas. Extreme temperatures across the state have prompted the National Weather Service to issue excessive heat warnings and heat advisories, and the southwestern region of the state has suffered record-breaking 120-degree heat indexes in recent days, with forecasters expecting more of the same. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Webb County Medical Examiner Dr. Corinne Stern said at a commissioners court meeting Monday that nine people had died in the border county as a result of the heat.

Laredo—the largest city in Webb County—tied its record high of 115 degrees on June 19, according to the National Weather Service.

The Texas power authority has told residents there is adequate energy supply to avoid blackouts, but asked people to cut back on power usage if they can.

Crucial Quote

“We don’t see this in our county—Laredo knows heat, Webb County knows heat and I think our county was caught a little off guard,” Stern told the commissioners. “I think many of us thought, ‘Oh, it’s just going to be another couple hot weeks in our county,’ but with the heat indexes rising … extra precautions need to be taken.”

What To Watch For

The National Weather Service tweeted Wednesday morning that dangerous heat in South Texas will continue into early next week, with highs in the 90 to 105 degrees range every day and heat indices ranging from 108 to 116 degrees in the afternoons.

Key Background

Stifling temperatures are overtaking the country shortly after many in the southern U.S. suffered days-long power outages due to heat. On Monday morning, power outages were affecting more than 200,000 people in Oklahoma, 85,000 in Texas, 80,000 in Louisiana, 45,000 in Mississippi, 30,000 in Arkansas and 15,000 in Alabama, according to PowerOutage.us. By Wednesday afternoon, Tennessee and Arkansas were the only states showing outages, with about 33,500 and 12,500, respectively. Texas had issues with its power grid—which is largely independent from most of the country—due to challenges of extreme heat, severe storms and tornadoes in recent years. The extreme weather comes shortly after another set of storms reportedly killed three people last week night in the Texas Panhandle, one in Mississippi and a fifth in Florida. Weather has also been dangerous up and down the East Coast, with thousands of flights being canceled Sunday through Tuesday due to thunderstorms and heat.

Surprising Fact

CNN reported Texas Electric Reliability Council set a new power usage record Tuesday at 6 p.m. when the grid reached 80,828 megawatts, beating the previous record of 80,148 megawatts, set on July 20, 2022. The authority expects the record to break again Wednesday , forecasting 81,878 megawatts will be needed around 5 p.m. ET Wednesday evening.

Big Number

More than 600. That’s how many Americans are killed by extreme heat annually, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of which are preventable. Athletes, low-income households, people with chronic medical conditions, outdoor workers, young children and people 65 and older are all said to be disproportionately impacted.