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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Forecasters predicted Friday would be another sweltering day for the Western United States, as heat warnings will remain in effect for some areas after Thursday's record-high temperatures.
Records were set Thursday in desert areas of Southern California: Death Valley, 127 degrees; Baker, 125 degrees; and Palmdale, 113 degrees.
The temperature at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport reached 116 degrees Thursday -- tying a record high for the date set in 1985 at that station. The all-time high record temperature for the city was 117 degrees.
The temperature reached a record-high 116 for the second straight day in Phoenix, Arizona. Mayor Phil Gordon said he was asking residents to check on their loved ones, especially seniors living alone, to make sure they are all right.
The city -- where the temperature reached 111 degrees by 1 p.m. -- has opened several hydration centers and assigned firefighters and police officers to carry drinking water and distribute it to the homeless, he said.
In northeastern Oregon, temperatures hit 107 in Hermiston and 106 in Pendleton.
The high was 100 in Spokane, Washington, where the record of 108 was sent in 1928. In nearby Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the day's high of 99 fell short of the forecast of 102 but threatened the record of 100 set in 1975.
Boise, Idaho, reached 103 degrees Thursday, the Associated Press reported. A predicted high of 107 on Friday would shatter the date's record by six degrees, AP said.
"Once it gets that high -- 105, 107, 109 -- it just feels hot," Rick Overton, a copywriter for a digital marketing firm, told AP.
In California, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services opened 17 cooling centers throughout the state, said spokesman Eric Lamoureux. He said incidents of heat exhaustion were "isolated."
"Any time you have got heat conditions like this, people overexert themselves outside, and that's one thing we're strongly encouraging people to be careful with."
He said a big problem is that overnight temperatures are not falling sufficiently "for people to get the recovery they need."
By 9 a.m., when the temperature in Las Vegas was 100 degrees, it was already apparent that Thursday was going to be unusual -- even for a desert area during an unusually dry year.
"We observed a 1 percent relative humidity last week, which is ridiculously dry," Fuis said. "It's true, it is dry heat, but it's hot nonetheless."
The 28-year veteran weather spokesman said Las Vegas has received just 0.3 inch of rain this year, more than 2 inches below its normal total for this time of year. "That's nothing," he said.
The temperature was 109 degrees by 1 p.m.
Fuis would not ascribe the searing temperatures to the effects of global warming. "It's just a pattern we're in right now -- very, very strong high pressure," he said.
Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, is home to 1.9 million residents and was a destination last year for 38.9 million tourists.
A few tourists this week have wound up at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada.
"We had three heat exhaustions yesterday that had to be admitted to the hospital," said Dr. Dale Carrison, an emergency room physician. "Who knows what will happen today?"
Symptoms typically start with headache, then thirst, malaise, nausea and vomiting, he said in a telephone interview from his emergency room, where the air-conditioned temperature was 73 degrees, 40 degrees lower than outside.
Typically, overheated patients arrive late in the afternoon, when temperatures peak, he said. "We've been on the networks here telling people to exercise early in the morning or late in the evening; don't go out in it unless you have to."
Hydration is the key, he said: "Fluids, fluids, fluids." Active cooling methods -- like covering a patient with moist towels and placing him or her in front of a fan -- can be lifesaving.
A spokeswoman for the Clark County coroner said the county this year has tallied just one death found to be heat-related, and that occurred last month. But that number may rise, since it can take two months to complete the toxicology tests, said Samantha Mann.
To help people cope with the potential effects of the searing temperatures, Clark County opened three air-conditioned shelters for those most at risk of heat-related illness. Those people include the elderly, the young and people who live alone.
A spokeswoman for Catholic Charities said the agency's 200 beds were full Wednesday night, as they almost always are, and it has opened a cooling shelter during the days with seating for 100 at any given time.
Police were on the lookout for children and pets left inside cars. A 1-year-old boy died Wednesday when he was left inside a car in temperatures approaching 100 degrees in Orofino, Idaho, according to AP.
CNN correspondent Chris Lawrence reported that the temperature inside his car rose to 135 degrees in 15 minutes.
"I'm sweating from literally every pore in my body, and it's unthinkable to think of a little child or a pet in a car for that long," he said.
The dry heat also vexed fire crews, The Associated Press reported.
Records melt in West - CNN.com
Records were set Thursday in desert areas of Southern California: Death Valley, 127 degrees; Baker, 125 degrees; and Palmdale, 113 degrees.
The temperature at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport reached 116 degrees Thursday -- tying a record high for the date set in 1985 at that station. The all-time high record temperature for the city was 117 degrees.
The temperature reached a record-high 116 for the second straight day in Phoenix, Arizona. Mayor Phil Gordon said he was asking residents to check on their loved ones, especially seniors living alone, to make sure they are all right.
The city -- where the temperature reached 111 degrees by 1 p.m. -- has opened several hydration centers and assigned firefighters and police officers to carry drinking water and distribute it to the homeless, he said.
In northeastern Oregon, temperatures hit 107 in Hermiston and 106 in Pendleton.
The high was 100 in Spokane, Washington, where the record of 108 was sent in 1928. In nearby Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the day's high of 99 fell short of the forecast of 102 but threatened the record of 100 set in 1975.
Boise, Idaho, reached 103 degrees Thursday, the Associated Press reported. A predicted high of 107 on Friday would shatter the date's record by six degrees, AP said.
"Once it gets that high -- 105, 107, 109 -- it just feels hot," Rick Overton, a copywriter for a digital marketing firm, told AP.
In California, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services opened 17 cooling centers throughout the state, said spokesman Eric Lamoureux. He said incidents of heat exhaustion were "isolated."
"Any time you have got heat conditions like this, people overexert themselves outside, and that's one thing we're strongly encouraging people to be careful with."
He said a big problem is that overnight temperatures are not falling sufficiently "for people to get the recovery they need."
By 9 a.m., when the temperature in Las Vegas was 100 degrees, it was already apparent that Thursday was going to be unusual -- even for a desert area during an unusually dry year.
"We observed a 1 percent relative humidity last week, which is ridiculously dry," Fuis said. "It's true, it is dry heat, but it's hot nonetheless."
The 28-year veteran weather spokesman said Las Vegas has received just 0.3 inch of rain this year, more than 2 inches below its normal total for this time of year. "That's nothing," he said.
The temperature was 109 degrees by 1 p.m.
Fuis would not ascribe the searing temperatures to the effects of global warming. "It's just a pattern we're in right now -- very, very strong high pressure," he said.
Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, is home to 1.9 million residents and was a destination last year for 38.9 million tourists.
A few tourists this week have wound up at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada.
"We had three heat exhaustions yesterday that had to be admitted to the hospital," said Dr. Dale Carrison, an emergency room physician. "Who knows what will happen today?"
Symptoms typically start with headache, then thirst, malaise, nausea and vomiting, he said in a telephone interview from his emergency room, where the air-conditioned temperature was 73 degrees, 40 degrees lower than outside.
Typically, overheated patients arrive late in the afternoon, when temperatures peak, he said. "We've been on the networks here telling people to exercise early in the morning or late in the evening; don't go out in it unless you have to."
Hydration is the key, he said: "Fluids, fluids, fluids." Active cooling methods -- like covering a patient with moist towels and placing him or her in front of a fan -- can be lifesaving.
A spokeswoman for the Clark County coroner said the county this year has tallied just one death found to be heat-related, and that occurred last month. But that number may rise, since it can take two months to complete the toxicology tests, said Samantha Mann.
To help people cope with the potential effects of the searing temperatures, Clark County opened three air-conditioned shelters for those most at risk of heat-related illness. Those people include the elderly, the young and people who live alone.
A spokeswoman for Catholic Charities said the agency's 200 beds were full Wednesday night, as they almost always are, and it has opened a cooling shelter during the days with seating for 100 at any given time.
Police were on the lookout for children and pets left inside cars. A 1-year-old boy died Wednesday when he was left inside a car in temperatures approaching 100 degrees in Orofino, Idaho, according to AP.
CNN correspondent Chris Lawrence reported that the temperature inside his car rose to 135 degrees in 15 minutes.
"I'm sweating from literally every pore in my body, and it's unthinkable to think of a little child or a pet in a car for that long," he said.
The dry heat also vexed fire crews, The Associated Press reported.
Records melt in West - CNN.com
to these brave ones!
127 isn't the all time record for death valley. the hottest ever recorded since they started record keeping was about 134 in 1917. it also reached 118 in washington state in 1985, so its far cry from about 105 or so recently (East washington state) 
