I call that a warm spring day, but still....

US Heatwave Kills 22 As Temperatures Top 50C


9:59am UK, Friday July 22, 2011
More than 20 people have died as the United States swelters through record temperatures in one of the worst heatwaves to hit the country in over a decade.


Hospitals and medical facilities have been inundated with people suffering heat-related illnesses as temperatures topped 37C (100F) across much of central and eastern parts of the country.
Beaches and public swimming pools have been swamped with locals and tourists alike trying to fend off the scorching heat.
The National Weather Service says the hot spell, which has already claimed as many as 22 lives in the Midwest, is expected to worsen with temperatures spiralling to up to 46C (115F).
Thousands of people have flocked to US beaches to try and cool down
Meteorologists warned the death toll could rise, likening the hot conditions to the punishing heatwave of 1995 that, in Chicago alone, led to 750 deaths over just a few days.
Vanderbilt University Hospital's Dr Corey Slovis says people become weak, nauseated and tired in this type of extreme weather.
"People with heat stroke are coming with elevated temperatures and alterations in mental status, either lethargy or coma," he said.
This board in New York shows the scorching temperatures during the heatwave
Manchester United players are on tour in the US and are bracing for high temperatures when they play Chicago Fire on Saturday.
Wayne Rooney tweeted: "Landed in Chicago. Gonna be hard playing in this heat. Hard enough walking in it."
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson told a media conference in Chicago that his players would be tested by the conditions.
Manchester United players are feeling the heat while on their 2011 US Tour
"We've come from the nice, cool atmosphere in Seattle to a furnace," he said.
Temperatures topped 51C (123F) in Iowa, in the central US, while in Maryland, near the US capital, weather services said it was 42C (108F) in the shade.
New York City officials have been placing mobile fountains around town to allow residents and tourists to refill water bottles and cool off.
A council worker in Texas sweats through the prolonged heatwave
The city's emergency crews have also hired additional manpower and are ready to respond to any heat-related incidents.
The intense heat is set to stay in place through the weekend.


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