This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Philadelphia • Highways buckled across the country, the waters of Lake Michigan were unusually warm for this time of year and even a minor train derailment outside Washington was blamed on heat, and the hot weather gripping much of the country only worsened Saturday.
Temperatures of more than 100 degrees were forecast in Philadelphia and excessive heat warnings were issued for several states in the Midwest as the days of smothering heat piled on, accompanied by severe storms that have knocked out power in spots from Michigan to the East Coast.
Most notable was last weekend's sudden and severe storm that drenched the mid-Atlantic region, where thousands remained without electricity a week later.
At least 30 deaths have been blamed on the heat, and hundreds of thousands remained without power Saturday, mostly in West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan.
Record temperatures were set Friday in several places, including the Indiana cities of Indianapolis, South Bend and Fort Wayne. In central Arkansas, Russellville reached 106 degrees, breaking a record set in 1964.
Relief was on the way in the form of a cold front as the weekend ends, but forecasters expected it to bring more severe weather, too. The rain should help dry spells in many places. Farmers in Ohio are growing concerned about the dry conditions.