Fatima Domingpe applies sunscreen to her face near the Mosaic Fountain in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, on Saturday, July 7. A record heat wave has been in the area for more than a week.
(CNN) -- Another day of blistering heat, and for hundreds of thousands, no power.
That's the expectation Friday, when thermometers once again teeter above the 100-degree mark from St. Louis to Baltimore and many communities in between.
More than 549,000 customers had no power Thursday night in 11 states and the District of Columbia, officials said.
The situation is particularly dire in places such as Fayette County, West Virginia, where about two-thirds of its 46,000 residents had no electricity, according to Theresa White, emergency management director.
Hundreds of thousands in West Virginia and other states will mark a week without power Friday after destructive storms barreled east from Indiana toward New Jersey. Others had their lights on, only to have them knocked out by more recent storms also fueled in part by the extreme heat.
It's 100 degrees outside (or worse). How's a fur-covered pup to cope? CNN iReporters from around the United States have been sharing photos of their best friends cooling off, and let's face it: They're too cute not to post.
Dog days of summer
Couple pleads for utility's help
How long will high temps last?
Food runs low after devastating storms
"We're starting to see light over the horizon, the only bad thing is the storms that we keep having that are knocking out the power that they do get restored," White said. "That makes it really hard when you finally get one step forward and you end up three steps back."
Two shelters remain open in the county, while free breakfasts and dinners will be offered in five other locations. They are among up to 25,000 meals a day that the Red Cross is expected to provide according to Becky Howard, the charity's regional chief development officer.
Your photos, tips for beating the heat
And it's going to be even hotter elsewhere, though that's hardly anything new for millions nationwide.
If the thermometer hits 108 degrees on Friday, it will be the ninth straight day of 100-or-higher temperatures in St. Louis, the weather service said.
iReport: Power outage leads to spoiled food at Maryland Target
Chicago's forecast peak for Friday is 103, and Indianapolis should go up to 104 degrees. Even more distant places, many of them still recovering from last week's storms, will again feel the oppressive heat, including a forecast 100 degree maximum in Washington and 103 in Baltimore.
Before it gets better "the record heat wave" could get worse. The National Weather Service forecasts "the heat will begin to expand eastward over the next few days, with high temperatures and humidity levels combining to create dangerous heat index values in the triple digits."
Some relief could come "by week's end," when the Upper Midwest should cool as a cold front moves across the Great Lakes. By Monday, that could mean a 20-degree drop in some places.
The storms left at least 22 people dead from Ohio to New Jersey, 13 of them in Virginia. An additional three people in North Carolina died in a second round of storms Sunday.
CNN's Jake Carpenter contributed to this report.
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Ten-year-old Lilly Hwang-Geddes, left, of Ithaca, New York, plays in a fountain at the Yards Park on Thursday, July 5, in Washington.
Six-year-old Spencer Hwang-Geddes of Ithaca, New York, cools off at the Yards Park on Thursday. Weather forecast predicted the hot weather will last through Sunday with possible daily triple-digit temperatures.
A boy enjoys the waterfall in the Yards Park fountain on Thursday.
Chilren play in the fountain away form Thursday's scorching temperatires at the Yards Park.
Shannon Mack and Bobby Rush keep cool with their dog, Bubba, in a pool at their apartment in Chicago on Wednesday.
Keshyra Pitts, 7, plays in the spray of a hydrant in Chicago on Wednesday.
Lori Bryant holds her 7-month-old nephew Justin Tackett as Marianne Oliver cools him down during the Fourth of July parade in Downers Grove, Illinois.
Residents find relief from the heat at the McCarren Park pool in Brooklyn, New York, on Tuesday, July 3.
Abbi Buck, of Cookeville, Tennessee, gulps a bottle of water as sweat drips down her face as she visits the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Tuesday.
Katie Kiang finds shelter from the heat to study for the Graduate Record Examinations inside an air-conditioned mall in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Monday. Kiang's home is one of the thousands without electricity after storms hit hard.
Gene Holmes splashes into a quarry lake after jumping from a rope swing on Monday, July 2, at the Beaver Dam Swimming Club in Cockeysville, Maryland.
Without electricity to operate the pumps at his gas station in Silver Spring, Maryland, Ken Duckson fills a cooler with ice he cannot sell because his cash registers will not work.
Aziz Taylor, 11, plays in a water fountain Monday in the Capitol Heights neighborhood of Washington.
Lifeguard Niko Garcia jumps into a pool in Washington on Monday to try and beat the heat wave gripping the nation.
A boy plays in a water fountain in Washington on Sunday, July 1, amid a record-setting heatwave in the eastern United States.
Bryan Moran sprays his dog, Rocky, with water in Washington's Columbia Heights on Sunday. Eastern cities were forecast to approach or break record-high temperatures.
Linda Gordon, right, finds relief from the extreme heat with an ice pack in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday, June 30.
Residents crowd onto the beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, in the powerful heat on Saturday.
Beachgoers lie in the sun at Coney Island on Saturday.
A boy plays in the ocean at Coney Island on Saturday.
Workers brave the high heat to repair a storm-damaged roof at the Park Tanglewood apartments in Riverdale, Maryland, on Saturday.
Beads of sweat roll down Francisco Hernandez's face as he works to repave Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, June 29.
Children play in the water at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta, where temperatures topped 100 degrees on Friday.
Beautiful standard poodle Gracie has water up to her shoulders in her family's above-ground backyard pool in Barberton, Ohio.
Dexter, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, decides it's too hot even to swim in Constant Lake in Ontario, Canada.
Four-month-old German shepherd Zhik naps on a float in his family's pool in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Flossy, a 5-year-old Maltese, captains a boat raft off the shores of Destin, Florida.
Year-old black lab Jackson enjoys his baby pool in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
It's not just American dogs that need to cool off. Sandro Capannolo spotted this pup taking a dip in a fountain in Rome. And Istvan Szemes of Hungary shared a video of his German shepherd gleefully splashing around in a baby pool.
|