Four days after a powerful storm cut a path? from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic, nearly 2 million people remain without electricity as triple-digit temperatures continue to scorch the region. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
By msnbc.com staff and NBC News
As nearly 1.5 million people across the country woke up Tuesday to another day with no power -- or air conditioning -- the National Weather Service warned dangerously high temperatures would be persisting through the end of the week in some states.
About a million people had electricity restored on Monday following a strong weekend storm that cut a path from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic, knocking down trees and power lines. But there were still about 1.5 million others waiting in the dark on Tuesday,?according to The Weather Channel.
The NWS issued excessive heat warnings for parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky.?It also issued warnings about severe thunderstorms in parts of Michigan and South Dakota early Tuesday.
In Washington D.C., where blackouts are a frequent problem in the summer months, the mayor requested President Obama declare a state of emergency.
"I think people are fed up with power outages, and we need a game-changer," Vincent Gray, Washington's Democratic mayor, said. "We need an approach now that's going to stop how we stop this in the first place."?
In Chicago on Monday, after a fast-moving storm barreled through, Commonwealth Edison introduced its mobile operations center, part of a new response plan to large-scale outages. More than 250,000 Chicago-area customers were knocked offline by Sunday's storms; that number was reduced to 48,000 by Tuesday morning, NBCChicago.com reported.
The NWS warned that ?people without air conditioning in their home should try to spend at least a portion of each day in an air-conditioned environment? as the hot weather continues. Pepco, D.C.'s utility company, estimated it would have 90 percent of its customers back up and running by Friday, NBCWashington.com reported.
Cooling centers for residents who don't have air conditioning have opened up across the country. In Virginia, in response to the number of cooling shelters in the area that don't allow animals,?a gourmet pet bakery opened up a cooling center just for pets, reported public radio station WAMU.org.?
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The Weather Channel?s website, weather.com, said the worst heat on July 4 would be located over the central states, with parts of the Midwest seeing highs about 5 to 15 degrees above average.
?The sultry conditions will also extend eastward into the Mid-Atlantic, including Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Pa. Be sure to take precautions if you have outdoor plans,? Chris Dolce, of weather.com, said.
Dolce warned that a cold front would bring scattered storms to the Northeast on July 4, saying ?a few of these storms could be severe with damaging winds and hail.?
?Parts of the Southeast may deal with pop-up afternoon and evening thunderstorms, particularly in the southern Appalachians and south Florida,? he added.
In Wheaton, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, July 4 fireworks and a parade were canceled due to damage from Sunday's thunderstorms.
"I don't think there's a block of houses that doesn't have half a dozen trees down, or parts of trees. It's a real mess to get around," resident Donald Sender told NBCChicago.com Monday evening as he refueled his generator.
Temperatures in the Chicago area are expected to reach 95 to 100 degrees, with heat index readings of 100 to 110 degrees, according to NBCChicago.com.
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