Dangerous heat wave impacting large swathes of the U.S. this week

A long and dangerous heat wave will blast a large swath of the United States this week, the National Weather Service said, with temperatures rising ahead of the July Fourth holiday and feeling even hotter because of the high humidity that's arriving with it. Several days of high temperatures will settle in across the lower Great Lakes, the mid-Atlantic and the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys, the weather service said. A number of big cities could see their highest temperatures of the year so far as they host World Cup matches. Feeling the heat will be the East Coast cities of New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore and Midwestern and Great Lakes cities including Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit. Southern cities including Dallas, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, will also see high temperatures. High heat will last into next weekend across the Great Plains, southeast and mid-Atlantic, the weather service said. It's the first widespread heat wave of the summer, impacting more than half of the country, forecasters said. The heat wave is expanding across the central and eastern U.S., while the Four Corners remain under dangerous fire weather conditions. At the same time, severe thunderstorms continue across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, with flooding concerns stretching from the Rockies into the Mid-Atlantic. Temperatures will reach well into the 90s and low 100 degrees Fahrenheit (mid to high 30s Celsius), the weather service said. …