Both the highs and lows of Dallas-Fort Worth’s monthlong heat wave are setting records.
Wednesday tied an all-time high for warmest overnight temperatures when the low dipped to only 86 degrees just before dawn. That equals a mark set last week.
“We didn’t cool off much this morning,” said Jason Dunn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Servicein Fort Worth.
The record high for Aug. 3 is likely to be broken today, for the third time in as many days. Forecasters expect the mercury to rise to 110, possibly obliterating the previous mark of 107 for the second straight day.
And the all-time high of 113 could be in jeopardy, too, depending on how fast temperatures rise today.
“It’s possible that we could get close,” Dunn said, “especially if we’re warming up faster through the morning hours.”
The heat wave is taking a toll on the state’s power grid, with air conditioners working overtime to keep homes cool.
Texans used nearly 68,000 megawatts of power late Tuesday, breaking Monday’s record, and will probably break the record again today. Officials are urging residents to conserve power to prevent rolling blackouts.
Nearly 6,000 people in North Dallas suffered an outage late Tuesday when a transformer blew. This morning, there were 2,300 customers who woke up in the dark.
The heat also wreaked havoc on commuters Tuesday when the heat caused a switch to fail on the Trinity Railway Express. As a result, train cars were jam-packed, and air conditioning on board was spotty.
An excessive heat warning remains in effect until Thursday night, and health officials continue to warn how dangerous such high temperatures can be. More than a dozen deaths have been attributed to the heat.
Once again there’s no relief in the near future.
The forecast calls for record-setting temperatures four of the next five days, before a barely noticeable cool-down into the low 100s early next week.
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