Scorching temperatures topping 90 degrees Fahrenheit were expected throughout the east, rising to at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in New York and Washington.

Canada’s Quebec region, particularly around Montreal, also got blasted, although city hospitals said there had been no immediate spike in heat-related illnesses.

New Yorkers were warned to stay in the shade and check on relatives and neighbors today as the temperature hit a record 102 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the mark for the date of 101 set in 1999.

The heat index, or how hot it feels, was 106 as of 3 p.m., the National Weather Service reported. The last time temperatures rose to 100 or more was on Aug. 9, 2001, when it was 103. The highest temperature ever recorded in the city was 106 on July 9, 1936.

Temperatures were forecast to reach 100 or feel worse from Virginia to Maine, putting stress on power agencies to supply air conditioning. Consolidated Edison Co. urged customers to conserve power during the day, according to an alert from New York City’s emergency notification program.

Electricity usage was expected to surge throughout the densely populated US northeast as office buildings reopened after the long July 4th Independence Day weekend.

Con Ed, a major utility company in the New York area, urged energy conservation during what was expected to be record demand for power as customers switched air conditioners into overdrive and raided freezers and fridges for refreshments.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory warning residents from Boston down to Washington that the elevated temperatures and high humidity could prove dangerous, particularly for young children and the elderly.

“Excessive heat” advisories also were posted in New York City and Philadelphia, where authorities opened “cooling stations”–air-conditioned buildings where residents can get out of the swelter.

“It will be so hot this afternoon that the weather could affect anyone no matter their age or overall health,” according to a weather service warning. “Please consider postponing any strenuous activities or workouts. Keep your pets in a cool location and provide them with plenty of water.”

The longest stretch of consecutive 100-plus days on record at Central Park came in 1993, when it rose from 100 on July 8 to 102 on July 10.

Queen Elizabeth II of the U.K. was among those braving the heat today, as the 84-year-old monarch made her first visit to New York since the 1976 bicentennial of U.S. independence from Great Britain.

The weather service issued heat advisories for much of the East and Northeast, meaning the high temperatures may have serious health consequences.

While the locals and dwellers of the community of Billings Montana were busy and preoccupied with the celebrations and festivities of Father’s Day on Sunday evening, they had absolutely no idea that Mother Nature was in no mood to support their notion of Father’s Day and, in turn, knocked them hard with one of the strongest tornados that has been witnessed by the state of Montana in the recent past.

A tornado that ripped the roof off a sports arena also tore through businesses, damaging a bar and a casino and leaving just the walls of an auto glass shop standing.

The tornado struck at about 4:30 p.m. as a big storm system with golf ball-sized hail passed through the area, National Weather Service meteorologist Keith Meier said.

After running through Main Street in the city’s northeast area, the twister quickly moved toward the 10,000-seat Rimrock Auto Arena about a half-mile away, where it hovered for about 15 minutes, snapping trees and telephone poles.

“It would touch down and suck back up and touch down and touch down again,” said Trooper Toman Baukema of the Montana Highway Patrol, who saw the tornado from a patrol station about a mile away.

Big pieces of metal could be seen hanging from power lines near the arena, and tangles of insulation and metal debris were strewn for hundreds of yards in the surrounding industrial area.

There were several employees inside the arena when it struck, but there were no reports of injuries, Baukema said.

The massive MetraPark amusement compound lost its roof to the strong winds. The winds not only took off the roof but also sent wreckage and timber flying in all directions. However, the good part to this incident was the fact that the MetraPark facility was not occupied by people at the time.

According to Mr. Brian Schweitzer–the Governor who looks over the region of Billings Montana– the total of the damage that has been caused to the MetraPark facility falls anywhere from a low of eight million to a high of fifteen million US dollars. Who knows where the next of the remaining two elements–fire and earth–will strike.

There were no reported deaths and no one has been reported missing, Billings police Sgt. Kevin Iffland said last Sunday.

As many as 60 tornadoes tore through Minnesota on Thursday evening, killing three people, injuring dozens of others and flattening homes up and down the state.

Police and National Guard soldiers are blocking entry to tornado-damaged neighborhoods in Wadena as the northwestern Minnesota town prepares to start cleaning up after the devastating storms.

In the northwest part of the state, an elderly woman was killed in Almora and a gas station owner was killed in Mentor. In southern Minnesota, one person was killed at a farm west of Albert Lea.

Officials in Wadena are meeting to plan the town’s next step. The storms destroyed or damaged dozens of homes, toppled power lines and left a big chunk of the town treeless.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty planned to tour storm-damaged areas later Friday.

Wadena, Minnesota, a small town of about 4,000, and three hours north of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, was hit hard. The tornado came roaring through at about 5:00 pm.

A school bus barn was destroyed, along with three buses. Steel beams were wrapped around one bus, while another was covered in debris. A nearby high school lost its roof.

The tornado leveled a concrete and cinder block and brick.

The National Weather Service is investigating, but the level of damage indicates a low-level EF3 tornado. That means winds of at least 135 miles an hour. The NWS will make the final determination.

The Wadena mayor is thankful the sirens went off early, 36 minutes before the tornado hit, thus saving lives. However, 20 were injured here in this town.

A smoky haze drifted over a massive section of central Canada and deep into the United States Monday due to numerous forest fires in central Quebec.

Winds pushed the smoke southwest from Quebec City Sunday evening into the St. Lawrence Valley and beyond. Fire crews from the northeastern U.S. and across Canada are fighting 52 fires in the province, eight of which are still burning out of control.

Environment Canada issued a smog alert Monday for the greater Montreal area and parts of eastern Ontario. Police said they were inundated with nearly 200 calls to 911 from residents concerned the smoke was the result of fires within the city.

In Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City, citizens reported the smell of smoke and the presence of heavy clouds.

In the U.S., the National Weather Service reported a strong smell of smoke in the New England states.

Air quality warnings were issued for eastern Ontario and Quebec early Monday morning.

The chief doctor of eastern Ontario told affected residents to keep their doors and windows shut.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said smog is a particular health risk for young children, the elderly and those with chronic breathing problems.

Ottawa Public Health warned that wood smoke can irritate the lungs, eyes, nose and throat and can cause coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing. The agency issued a public service announcement advising residents, especially seniors, children and people with breathing difficulties or heart and lung conditions, to avoid strenuous outdoor activities.

A hail storm that moved in from northwestern Oklahoma pounded the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, leaving broken windows and other damage in its wake.

Paramedics responded to 40 calls in the metro between 4 and 5 p.m. and took 21 patients to local hospitals, Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman Lara O’Leary said.

Firefighters responded to numerous wrecks, injuries and downed power lines, fire Deputy Chief Cecil Clay said.

Numerous power outages were reported across the metro, with about 10,000 Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. customers still lacking electricity about 7 p.m. Based on reports to the National Weather Service, the hailstorm moved into the city area from Piedmont and cut about an eight-mile swath as it moved to the southeast and into the Tinker Air Force Base and Midwest City areas.

It stretched from the southwest side of Edmond to the Northwest Expressway as it headed into downtown Oklahoma City.

The storm Sunday afternoon brought hail as large as softballs and driving rain, forcing motorists off roads in an effort to avoid shattered windshields and other damage. The storm produced so much hail, it looked like a snowstorm had hit.

The storm damaged two ambulance units, one fire truck and 34 police vehicles.

Wind gusts as high as 60 mph were measured during the storm, which left leaves, branches and other debris on the ground.

More showers and thunderstorms are possible across much of Oklahoma again today and tonight, with storm chances only increasing in the days ahead, according to the National Weather Service.

Patches of fog are expected to hang around until late morning and early afternoon, especially in eastern Oklahoma, where a fog advisory was issued, forecasters said. Visibility could be reduced significantly in spots.

Storms are expected to track across western and southern Oklahoma today, with a chance to spread into central and eastern Oklahoma as well, according to the weather service. More widespread storms are expected overnight, including in the Oklahoma City area.

Tornadoes hit hard Oklahoma on Monday afternoon, seriously destroying houses as well as a convenience store, and with a radio station reporting one death.

Meanwhile, authorities are investigating whether a tornado touched down in northeastern Oklahoma, causing extensive damage in the Tulsa area.

Tulsa City-County Emergency Management director Michael McCool said a tornado may have barreled across the southern half of the city Thursday morning, damaging homes and businesses and knocking down trees and power poles. He says one minor injury was reported.

McCool says it appears the storm “hopped and skipped and jumped across city from west to east.”

The National Weather Service had a preliminary report of a tornado touching down northeast of Sapulpa in Creek County, which is adjacent to Tulsa.

McCool says the sirens were sounded when officials received reports of winds gusting to 80 mph.

Numerous severe storms that initially developed in western Oklahoma swept rapidly eastward overnight, some packing straight-line winds of 60 mph and greater.

The National Weather Service has ordered a tornado watch for much of Oklahoma as conditions developed for a round of dangerous weather that may create tornadoes. Below are the lists of some areas being monitored cautiously:

4 km 3 miles S 184 from Jones OK 5 km 3 miles NE 40 from Nicoma Park OK 5 km 3 miles NNW 333 from Choctaw OK 22 km 14 miles ENE 78 from Oklahoma City OK 307 km 190 miles N 351 from Dallas TX. com Oklahoma City OK News Weather Video as well as Sports Mother.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for 27 counties in western and northern Oklahoma.

The watch extends along and 95 miles north and south of a line from 10 miles northeast of Topeka, Kan., to 45 miles west-southwest of Altus.

Twenty-seven counties are included in the watch, which runs until 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Parts of the Oklahoma City metro area, including Chickasha, El Reno and Guthrie, along with the cities of Altus, Enid, Lawton, Ponca City and Woodward fall within the watch area.

Besides tornadoes, very large hail and heavy rain are possible.

Several tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma and Kansas as Monday’s storms moved through, dumping hail as big as softballs, splintering homes and downing hundreds of power lines.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Deputy Fire Chief Cecil Clay refused to rule out the possibility of finding more dead. He said conditions were tough for rescue workers.

“We have heavy fog and ower lines down, making it difficult to see all the hazards out there,” he said.

Oklahoma authorities lowered the storms’ death toll from five to two after learning three children who were reported killed had survived.

An Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman said Tuesday that the children were injured in the storms that killed their Cleveland County mother and a man in Oklahoma City.

A miscommunication was blamed for the errant report about the children, who remain in critical condition in an Oklahoma City-area hospital. At least 58 other people were injured.

Gov. Brad Henry declared a state of emergency in 56 Oklahoma counties.

The line of storms swept through Kansas and into Oklahoma on Monday evening, leveling houses and flipping cars. Forecasters using advanced technology, fueled by supercomputers crunching atmospheric data, began predicting the severe weather last week.

Monday night, severe weather hit Oklahoma and Kansas and as many as a dozen tornadoes were seen across the plains; 5 people have been reported dead and dozens other were injured. The National Weather Service said that the storms will continue through Tuesday. Tuesday morning rescuers are searching for possible survivors in damaged homes. At least 40 homes were destroyed and 108 more had damage.

While revealing details of the people who lost their lives due to the unfavorable weather conditions, Jerry Lojka, the spokesperson of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management has stated to news sources that owing to the heavy storms two people lost their lives in Oklahoma City and as many as three individuals were killed in Cleveland County which is located in the southern part of the city. Although the emergency management agency divulged details about the persons who lost their lives, no further information has been available about the circumstances that lead to their death. Moreover, officials have declared that around 58 people received injuries in the hostile weather conditions while the condition of at least two of them is said to be quite serious.

It has been reported that on Monday itself a whopping number of 25 to 30 tornadoes ripped across parts of Oklahoma, which is more than half of the total number of tornadoes that the state witnesses in a particular year. However, the adverse weather condition is expected to continue through Tuesday as well as on Wednesday, according to reports issued by officials.

Severe weather, thunderstorms, and hail up to the size of baseballs were reported Monday night, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

More than 4,000 people were without power Monday night in and near Oklahoma City, and 44 counties in Oklahoma had tornado watches in effect.

Tornadoes can happen anywhere. The National Weather Service reported that: About 73% of all Utah tornadoes have occurred in May, June, July and August, when severe thunderstorms occasionally frequent Utah. Also, 69% of all Utah tornadoes have occurred between the hours of Noon and 5:00 PM (MST), while 55% of all waterspouts have happened in the morning hours.

A deadly storm has triggered floods in several southeast states, leaving at least 15 people dead as it moves toward Georgia. The storm flooded Tennessee on Sunday, killing at least 11 people and forcing the evacuation of thousands others . Authorities said about 20 inches of rain was dumped on the state, turning streets into virtual seas.

In Mississippi, two tornadoes killed three people Sunday, and a fourth person died in a rain-related traffic accident.

Parts of Tennessee have been drenched with 20 inches of rain.

Nashville officials were keeping an eye on the Cumberland River, which runs through the city and was expected to crest at around 51 feet.

“All of our major creeks and the Cumberland River are near flood level, if not at flood level,” Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said at a news conference Sunday. “The ground is entirely saturated, and the rain continues to fall. There’s nowhere for the water to go.”

Dean said that more rain has fallen in Nashville in the last 24 hours than has ever been recorded in the city.

“We are still at this point in rescue stage and will be until the water begins to subside,” he said.

The National Weather Service advised that major flooding was expected to continue along the river Monday, followed by a gradual decrease in water levels. The river was expected to fall below flood stage late Tuesday night.

The forecast called for more rain through the day Sunday, which could stymie rescuers trying to reach all of the far-flung areas that have been affected.

National Weather Service scientist, Gary Hufford, told reporters in a conference call Tuesday that it can be difficult to tell with satellite imagery how much ash is in the air and whether the airspace is safe for jetliners.

“The volcanic ash science still has many limitations,” he said.

Asked whether he would be comfortable flying in Europe, Hufford paused and said, “I would be cautious.”

The lengthy shutdown of many European airports continues to surprise travelers and scientists.

The year of the earthquake has suddenly become the year of the volcano.

The eruption in Iceland is not large as volcanoes go, but the cloud over Europe has shed light on the awkward overlay of human commerce and a hot, churning, unpredictable Earth. It raises the question of what governments can do to prepare for–and adapt to–wild-card geological events that not only affect airliners but can also alter the planet’s climate for years at a stretch.

The volcano with the difficult name of Eyjafjallajokull is not powerful enough to change the climate –it has ejected material only as high as about 20,000 feet and would need to launch the ash to at least 33,000 feet to have global climatic effects, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Now airports are beginning to open again in Britain and the Netherlands, but no one can be entirely sure what will happen next in Iceland. Eyjafjallajokull could incite an eruption of its larger neighbor, Katla, which hasn’t erupted since 1918 and might be ready to rumble. In all three historically recorded eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull–in 920, 1612 and 1821–Katla erupted soon thereafter.

“The eruption that’s going on right now is small in comparison to what we expect Katla would be like,” said Jay Miller, a volcanologist at Texas A&M University.

Events in recent days have demonstrated the inherent uncertainties of volcano science. Although volcanoes are far more predictable than earthquakes, they remain quirky, with each one having its own personality. Scientists rely primarily on past performance to predict future activity for any given location. The Iceland volcano initially produced little ash, but a new vent opened beneath a glacier and the situation turned explosive. What precisely happened is still being researched, but it appears that meltwater and magma produced steam quite suddenly and the volcano popped its top like a shaken soda bottle.

No one knows how much material will be ejected, or how high into the atmosphere it will travel. Scientists using computer models are frantically trying to track plumes of ash that become widely and chaotically dispersed even as new ones shoot up. No one knows whether the ash will reach the airspace over the United States and affect domestic travel, though that doesn’t seem to be an imminent threat. The ash has reached eastern Canada, however.

“I think there might be some nicer sunsets by the end of this week over North America,” said Stan Benjamin, director of the Forecast Research Branch of NOAA’s Global Systems Division.
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