DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) 鈥� Summer camps and other outdoor activities were canceled Monday as tens of millions of people across the Midwest endured a heat wave that is expected to spread eastward this week. Communities opened cooling centers and urged people to take it easy and stay hydrated.
Forty-seven million people across big chunks of the Midwest and parts of the Ohio Valley are under an through at least Tuesday. Temperatures are forecast to reach the 90s, with heat index values, or 鈥渇eels-like鈥� temperatures, expected to top 100 degrees (37.8 degrees Celsius) in the region, according to the National Weather Service.
Visiting Des Moines with family, Rachel Washburn searched for things to do with kids during a heat wave. They landed at a water sprayground before lunch Monday, where her children played tag in the cool water.
鈥淢y kids were quite shocked at the heat and humidity,鈥� said Washburn of her seven children ages 18 months to 17 who had been used to more temperate weather farther north in Bemidji, Minnesota. 鈥淲e were hoping for some good weather, but we’ll make do.鈥�
About 56 million Americans are under an extreme heat watch as hot and humid weather is expected to move farther east later in the week, with some of the worst conditions expected by Thursday and Friday in the Ohio Valley, the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast. Some areas could experience record-high temperatures, said Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
On Monday, cities and event planners were already announcing adjustments for or calling off events later in the week, including a farmer’s market scheduled for Tuesday in DeWitt, Michigan; a movie screening Wednesday in Fairfield, Ohio; and Thursday鈥檚 food truck festival in Warwick, New York.
The heat wave will also likely coincide with the Fourth of July holiday weekend, providing additional risk as more people have cookouts or watch fireworks outside for the of American independence.
Kleebauer said the center recommends people stay hydrated and ensure access to shady areas and air conditioning.
Emergency workers were out in Nashville on Monday to offer water and check on people during the hottest time of the day.
Mike Russell, a captain at the Nashville Office of Emergency Management, said he saw many empty areas where people typically sleep outside, which he said was a good sign that they found someplace cool to escape the heat for a while.
Logan King, 29, brought a cart to fill up on cold water and snacks when the emergency workers came out to a patch of woods behind a Walmart where he and others sleep outside. The trees where people have pitched tents offer some cover from the direct sun, but not much relief.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just miserable honestly, but this helps so much,鈥� King said. 鈥淓ven with the shade and a tent … it gets hot.”
Extreme heat has also , where temperature records were set and many heat-related deaths were reported in France.
People can be caught off guard by the first heat wave of the year, said Dr. Roy Elrod, chief of staff at DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e happy winter鈥檚 gone, you鈥檙e ready to enjoy the summer, you鈥檝e just been aching for it,鈥� Elrod said. 鈥淎nd so, I think we slip into kind of a position where we think it鈥檚 got to be OK.鈥�
Heat-related injuries can happen in a matter of minutes, he said, especially to those who don鈥檛 prepare for the weather by hydrating, wearing light clothing, avoiding the hottest times of the day and minimizing exposure to the sun.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison said it was closing 23 buildings to the public starting Tuesday, allowing only limited access to 11 others. It was relocating some summer classes after a broken water line at its cooling plant earlier this month severely reduced the ability to provide air conditioning across campus.
Temperatures approaching 90 degrees and high humidity didn鈥檛 stop Toni Kreutzer, 28, from taking a walk Monday along the shores of Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin, with her 13-year-old dog Chester.
鈥淚 like it hot,鈥� Kreutzer said. “I just don鈥檛 like the humidity.”
___
McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press reporters Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Kristin M. Hall in Nashville and Haya Panjwani in Washington, D.C., contributed.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
