Part of the United States under heat, record in Washington

AFP, published on Wednesday, October 02, 2019 at 11:32 pm

Unusual heat for the season hit Wednesday the center and east of the United States, where schools without air conditioning closed while a historic record was beaten in the capital, Washington.

"Temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees (Fahrenheit, 5 to 10 degrees Celsius) above normal in parts of the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast," the US Meteorological Service (NWS) warned. their morning bulletin.

In Washington, mercury reached 36.6 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, unheard of for a 2 October since the establishment of measures in 1972, according to the NWS. Temperatures surpassed 32 degrees for the 61st time this year, the capital's town hall said on Twitter.

On the esplanade of the Mall, the tourists protected themselves as they could from the sun, in the middle of the sellers who offered water and soda.

Several other cities could break records, with 38.3 ° C expected in Montgomery (Alabama), 35.5 in Atlanta (Georgia) or 33.3 in Little Rock (Arkansas).

The heat did not spare the northeast, with 33 degrees recorded at Central Park in New York, beating a record that had held since October 1941, the NWS said.

In Ohio, the city of Columbus has closed since Tuesday over a hundred schools without air conditioning in the classroom, because of the heat combined with high humidity.

In high schools in the city, sports activities were banned after 11:00 am and they were canceled for primary and middle school students.

In the small town of Tipp City, teachers distributed sorbets to students and some classes were held outside in shady places, according to local media.

In Maryland (Northeast), the Baltimore County School Board also announced the closure Wednesday of "all non-air-conditioned buildings." With a peak at 36.6 ° C, the city broke its temperature record for a month of October, which also dated back to 1941.

Temperatures are expected to start dropping in central London on Friday, while the north-east will see the thermometer tumble 17 degrees in New York and nearly 10 degrees in Washington.

This heat wave, very rare at this time of the year, comes a few days after the surprise arrival of winter in the north-west of the country, where Montana was hit last weekend by waterfalls. snow out of the ordinary.

In Billings, the largest city in this rural state, it was very cool Wednesday afternoon, with 5 degrees.

In Browning, near the Canadian border, he fell 1.20 m of snow between Friday and Sunday, according to the NWS, urging Governor Steve Bullock to place the state in an emergency situation in the face of this unprecedented climatic episode "for a month of September.