Massive heat wave blamed for at least 6 deaths

Heat wave fast facts

• Up to 200 million people could be affected from the central U.S. to the East Coast.
• At least six deaths were blamed on the excessive heat: 4 people died in Maryland, while one died in Arizona and another died in Arkansas.
• Several events were canceled in New York City, including OZY Fest and the NYC Triathlon.

A dangerous and deadly heat wave is gripping nearly more than half of the U.S. Tens of millions are set to broil in record-setting high temperatures this weekend, with heat advisories or warnings in effect from the Midwest to much of the East Coast. The heatwave is already blamed for at six least deaths.

Temperatures are expected to range from the mid 90's to the triple digits, with the heat index making it feel as hot as 100 to 115 degrees.

Power outages hit NYC, D.C. metro

More than 4,600 residents across the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area were left without power Sunday after storms ripped through the metro. Northern Virginia officials reported outages for more than 14,500 customers. The area faces threats of flash flooding on Monday.

In New York City, outages continued in Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn, where some neighborhoods have remained without power since Saturday. Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke with Con Edison officials, who said the utility company had experienced some equipment failures along with a strained system.

At least 8 injured in lightning strike on Florida beach

At least eight people were injured when a bolt of lightning touched down on beach in Clearwater, Florida, CBS Tampa affiliate WTSP reports. One person is believed to have life-threatening injuries after being struck Sunday afternoon.

The Tampa Bay region has grappled with warm weather, with heat indexes reaching highs of 110 degrees. According to a recent Weather Channel report, the entire state is expected to record above-average temperatures from August through the fall.

MLB grapples with high temperatures

At Wrigley Field, misters in the back of the bleachers tried to cool the crowd. At Yankee Stadium, only one player took batting practice on the field.

In Cleveland, rules were relaxed on what fans could bring into the park. Even for a sport that promotes high heat, Saturday was a scorcher across the majors.

From the Northeast through the Midwest, no player, manager or umpire was spared as temperatures soared near triple digits in big league broilers. Hours before Baltimore played Boston at sweltering Camden Yards, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde pulled aside starting catcher Chance Sisco and issued a stiff directive.

"I told Chance, 'Do not go outside until the game starts,'" Hyde said. Sisco went all nine innings Friday night and was in the lineup again while backup Pedro Severino recovers from an illness.

In Chicago, where it was 94 when the Cubs started against San Diego, there was a big ovation in the seventh inning -- for the weather. That's when the wind suddenly shifted and began blowing in, cooling the stadium.

The thermometer read 94 in New York, too, the hottest for a Yankees game this season. The Yankees set up supplemental hydration stadiums in all three decks and the bleachers, and made announcements over the public address system reminding fans to keep drinking water.

The weather began to break in some spots: A day after it was 94 when Minnesota hosted Oakland -- the second-hottest start in Target Field's 10-year history -- it was about 20 degrees cooler in the Twin Cities.

On Friday night, All-Star pitcher Jake Odorizzi struggled with the A's lineup and the humid setting. "It was only like pitching in a rain forest," he said.

NYC Triathlon donates drinks after cancellation

The water and sports drinks that would have gone to New York City Triathlon participants are not going to waste, CBS New York reports.

Life Time, which has been producing the NYC Triathlon for the past seven years, donated more than 12 tons, or 1,900 gallons, of water and Gatorade Endurance to be distributed to New Yorkers in need during the heat wave.

This is the first time the triathlon has ever been cancelled.

Power outages hit Wisconsin

Severe storms Friday and Saturday knocked out power for thousands of We Energies customers in the southeastern Wisconsin area. Officials told CBS Green Bay affiliate WFRV the outages could last multiple days.

A temporary outage occurred in Madison due to a fire damaging a substation. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Tips for combating heat-related sickness

The extreme heat around the country has already proven to be deadly. Former New York Giants lineman Mitch Petrus, 32, died Thursday night after suffering from an apparent heat stroke.

Chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook joined "CBS Weekend News" to discuss how to stay ahead of the symptoms that contributed to the deaths of at least six people, including Petrus. LaPook says to be on the lookout for early symptoms, such as dizziness, a quickened pulse and nausea.

Hydration is of the utmost importance. "First thing in the morning, have a glass or two of water just to get ahead of the game," LaPook advised. He also suggested paying attention to your urine color, as a yellower-than-normal color could signify that the kidneys are holding onto water and suggest dehydration.

"You can lose a ton of fluid and electrolytes through your sweat," LaPook also noted. "That's generally a good thing. The more humid it is, the less efficiently your body is able to sweat but if you stop sweating altogether, that could be a bad sign and it means you're very dehydrated and you're not able to have enough water to sweat."

D.C. crowds brave heat for Apollo 11 Fest

The threat of triple-digit temperatures didn't stop people from coming to the National Mall Saturday. Medical crews were standing by, ready to treat heat-related illnesses at this weekend's outdoor Apollo 11 festival.

Washington, D.C. is one of several east coast cities where high heat and humidity will make it feel like it's over 100 degrees. City officials are monitoring the heatwave from the emergency operations center.

This is the first major heat wave to scorch the country this summer. Climate scientists say we can expect to see more here and across the globe.

Baltimore heat index hits 122

Baltimore logged a heat index of 122 degrees early Saturday evening. The city is one of a handful of locations experiencing a heat index in the triple digits, including cities in the Midwest and East Coast.

Record high temperatures from Maine to Virginia

Record high temperatures have already been recorded at New York City's JFK Airport, Long Island's MacArthur Airport, Atlantic City, Blacksburg, Virginia. and Millinocket in northern Maine.

Central Maine, meanwhile, experienced blackouts Saturday. Thousands of Central Maine Power customers dealt with power outages, ranging from inland towns in York County to the city of Lewiston, CBS Portland affiliate WGME reports.

The entire state of Maine is under a heat advisory.

Police ask residents to hold off on crime until heat wave is over

Police in Braintree, Massachusetts, are asking residents "to hold off" all criminal activity until the extreme heat is over.

"Folks. Due to the extreme heat, we are asking anyone thinking of doing criminal activity to hold off until Monday," the department wrote in a Facebook post. "It is straight up hot as soccer balls out there. Conducting criminal activity, in this extreme heat is next level henchmen status, and also very dangerous."

The high in Braintree is expected to reach 95 degrees, with a real feel of 106 degrees.

"Stay home, blast the AC, binge 'Stranger Things' Season 3, play with the face app, practice karate in your basement We will all meet again on Monday when it's cooler."

​"Heat emergency plan" activated in D.C.

Washington, D.C., joined dozens of cities in declaring a weather-related emergency ahead of record-breaking temperatures expected throughout the weekend.

Dr. Christopher Rodriguez, the district's director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said officials will be monitoring the dangerous temperatures from an operations center.

"This is going to be one of the most severe heat events that we've had in the last several years," Rodriguez said.

While midwestern cities like Milwaukee and Chicago will be affected, the East Coast is expected to take the brunt of it. Temperatures are expected to range from the mid 90's to the triple digits, with the heat index making it feel as hot as 100 to 115 degrees.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned the heat can be a silent killer. Doctors are warning to watch out for signs of heat illness. Symptoms can include headache, muscle cramps, nausea. another sign is a lack of sweating.

-- Natalie Brand reports from Washington.

​Hospital demonstrates threat of children in hot cars

Twenty-one children have died so far this year after being left in hot cars -- a risk that increases with rising temperatures. Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital demonstrated how hot a car can get. In the span of half an hour, the hospital found that the car's interior temperature rose from 96 degrees to 124.

The soaring heat is especially dangerous for outdoor workers. To keep Chicago cool, the city has installed hundreds of green alleys, made with materials that absorb less heat than black asphalt. New York City also has a program that paints roofs white to reflect the sun.

-- Adriana Diaz

More triple-digit heat indexes on the way

A new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists that found by 2050, the number of days where the heat index hits 105 will triple. By the start of the next century, Boston could have the same number of extreme heat days as Columbia, South Carolina does now.

While heat waves may become more frequent and more extreme due to climate change, it's not possible to say whether this particular heat wave is the result of climate change.

-- Jeff Berardelli reports from New York.

OZY Fest canceled in NYC

Central Park festival OZY Fest has been canceled due to the heat wave, New York City officials said Friday.

"In the case of OZY Fest, we do have in our contract for either rain events or extreme heat events. We do have the right of exercising cancellation if the heat index exceeds 105 [degrees]," NYC Park Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver said in a statement Friday. "We determined for both days, as we got updated information, that was going to be the case."

The festival advertised John Legend, Trevor Noah, Miguel, Tove Lo, Alex Rodriguez, Megan Rapinoe, Rachael Ray, Padma Lakshmi, Spike Lee and 2020 Democratic hopeful Beto O'Rourke as guests.

Ex-NFL player dies of heat stroke

Former New York Giants offensive lineman Mitch Petrus died in Arkansas of apparent heat stroke, officials said. He was 32.

According to Pulaski County Coroner Gerone Hobbs, Petrus died Thursday night at a North Little Rock hospital. He says Petrus had worked outside all day at his family shop and that his cause of death is listed as heat stroke.

Petrus was a University of Arkansas walk-on who played alongside Razorback greats Darren McFadden and Felix Jones and later earned all-Southeastern Conference honors. He was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round in 2010 and had a three-year NFL career, winning a Super Bowl with New York in his second season.

NYC beaches and pools to stay open late

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city's beaches and pools will stay open later than usual. Olympic-size pools and intermediate-sized outdoor pools will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Beaches will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

As part of the mayor's executive order, all office buildings 100 feet and taller must set their thermostats to 78 degrees to conserve energy until Sunday night. At a press conference on Friday, de Blasio said this was the first time this has been done.

The city's cooling centers will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and in some cases, there will be extended hours, de Blasio said.

The New York City Public Library announced it decided to open five additional branches in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island on Sunday, July 21.

Biscuit baked in car in Nebraska

The National Weather Service in Omaha, Nebraska, baked biscuits in a parked car using only the heat of the sun. The agency put four biscuits on a baking sheet, then left them on the dashboard of a parked car in the sun to begin its experiment.

Over the course of the next eight hours, the weather service shared updates on how the biscuits were doing.

After about 45 minutes, the biscuits began to rise, and after an hour, the pan temperature reached 175 degrees. "This is a good time to remind everyone that your car does in fact get deadly hot," the agency tweeted. "Look before you lock! On average, 38 children die in hot cars each year. Don't be a statistic!"

At the five-hour mark, the agency reported the top of the biscuits were baked, and even the temperature in the shady part of the car had reached 144 degrees.

"And after nearly 8 hours in the sun, the outside of the biscuit is actually edible," the agency wrote in its final update. "The middle is still pretty doughy though. The max temp on the pan was 185!"

-- Sophie Lewis