Deadly Heat Wave Lingers From Deep South to Plains

CHICAGO — Much of the eastern half of the nation, from the Deep South to the Northern Plains, sweltered through another day of scorching temperatures Thursday as a heat wave that has killed at least 71 people in 12 states lingered with little relief expected until the weekend.

The hot weather hit mid-America the hardest. It has been blamed for 27 deaths since July 19 in Missouri alone; Illinois has reported 19 fatalities, 11 in Chicago. Ohio had 10 deaths attributed to heat, while Arkansas, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Maryland reported from one to three fatalities each.

In St. Louis, which has counted 14 heat victims, two men in their 80s were found dead in their homes with their air conditioners turned off, authorities said. In Columbia, Mo., a woman who police believe had been sunbathing was found dead in her yard by a neighbor who noticed the victim’s radio was on.

The heat wave is the result of a high pressure system that has anchored itself from the Plains states through the lower Mississippi Valley, preventing cooler weather systems from moving through.

“It’s summertime in the United States, and you get systems like this,” said Pat Slattery of the National Weather Service. “It looks like for the next day or so it’s staying put.”

The nation’s high was 111 in Pierre, S.D. Little Rock, Ark., had the highest heat index, at 118 degrees.