Heat wave bakes Texas amid power outages while Canada braces for wildfires

(Reuters) — Millions of Americans in southeast Texas endured brutally hot conditions on Tuesday without the relief of air conditioning after deadly Tropical Storm Beryl knocked out power to a large portion of the region.

Scorching heat also baked much of the Western U.S. and Canada, raising the risk of wildfires.

About 2 million Texas homes and businesses were without electricity, according to Poweroutage.us, as temperatures were reaching above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 C) at midday on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

“Without power across much of Southeast Texas in the wake of Beryl, no air conditioning could make for dangerous conditions,” the service said.

Tropical Storm Beryl barreled into Texas on Monday, flooding highways, damaging homes and downing power lines in its path. Seven people were killed in the storm in Texas, including two people who were killed by fallen trees, the Houston Chronicle reported. Beryl killed 11 people in the Caribbean before reaching Texas.

Downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Tuesday, the storm weakened as it moved through the Midwest but still posed a risk for flash flooding and tornadoes through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

In all, some 128 million people across the U.S. were under heat advisories on Tuesday. Most of the West – from Seattle down through California and into Arizona – was expected to see record high temperatures.

The national high of 129 F (54 C) was recorded near Tecopa, California, in the Mojave Desert, the weather service said.

Las Vegas reached 117 F (47 C), Phoenix hit 116 F (47 C) and Tucson 111 F (44 C).

The heat wave has also sent temperatures soaring across much of western Canada said Armel Castellan, a meteorologist.