At least 25 people are suspected to have died in New Jersey from a multi-day heat wave that covered a large portion of the eastern United States over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, state officials said Saturday.
New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard Washington described where victims were found. "Unfortunately, many of these individuals were found in homes without air conditioning," he told reporters at a news conference. "A few were outside their residences, some on the street and some even in parked cars."
State officials said they began seeing what they believe are heat-related deaths as early as Thursday. Most occurred in central and northern New Jersey. Temperatures across the Eastern Seaboard over several days reached the high 90s to triple digits.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the heat was not selective. "The heat's hitting all of us, not just seniors, not just with underlying health conditions, people of all ages," she said. Sherrill also noted that thunderstorms Friday night and through the weekend knocked out power to nearly 300,000 utility customers across the state, with wind gusts of up to 80 mph toppling trees and power lines.
Sherrill added context on the scale of the event. "Extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer in America, and this is the hottest stretch we've seen in over 14 years," she said.
A dozen cities broke or tied daily high temperature records on July 4 itself, according to ABC News. The heat dome that produced those temperatures had settled over parts of the central and eastern United States for several days.
In Illinois, a separate weather-related death was reported in Fox Township. According to the Kendall County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to an RV park at around 3:12 p.m. after wind gusts toppled a tree onto a camper trailer, killing a 47-year-old woman inside.
Forecasters said lingering heat was expected to trigger another round of severe weather and possible flash flooding Sunday in parts of the mid-Atlantic and South. A level 2 of 5 slight risk of severe weather, including isolated small hail, lightning, and flash flooding, was possible from Charlottesville, Virginia, up into north-central New Jersey, covering Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Storms were expected to intensify after 2 p.m. and continue into the late evening.
Heat advisories remained in effect Sunday along the East Coast from Jacksonville, Florida, up to Philadelphia, with heat index values expected to climb into triple digits in some areas.
