Nashville, Tenn. – Heat- stricken residents in some areas finally got a small break Sunday from the oppressive triple-digit temperatures that have killed at least 44 people in the Southeast and Midwest.
The temperature reached 94 in Memphis, well short of the predicted 102 and the first time in 10 days it didn’t break 100. It was forecast to reach 96 today before hovering near the century mark the rest of the week.
The local health department said the city’s heat index – a measure that factors in humidity to describe how hot it feels – has broken 100 every day since June 27.
Temperatures also finally dropped into the mid-90s and upper 80s Sunday in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Missouri after more than a week of triple digits. Americus, in southwest Georgia, was still expected to reach 99 degrees today.
Authorities in Memphis reported two heat-related deaths Saturday, bringing Tennessee’s total to 13.
Many of the victims were elderly and living in homes without air conditioning.
The latest victims were a 74-year-old man found dead Saturday after working in his yard and a 60-year-old man found dead in his home late Friday. He had asthma, the Shelby County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
In Elmore County, Alabama, an anonymous donor gave county schools 20,160 bottles of water Friday for children to drink on school buses that have no air conditioning.
“The kids were so thrilled. They were quiet on the buses and just sat in their seats and drank their water,” county schools spokeswoman Judy Caton said.
Emergency physicians warned that days of heat-related stress can lead to problems such as nausea, dizziness, headaches, cramps and vomiting for people who otherwise are healthy. Those symptoms are the first signs of heat exhaustion.
“It is a cumulative thing,” said Dr. Franc Fenaughty, an emergency-room physician in the Memphis suburb of Germantown.
Experts warned that trees are being stressed by the heat and extended drought conditions, which could mean an early start to the fire season that usually doesn’t begin until October.
“There’s going to be a lot of flammable material out there,” said Tim Phelps, Tennessee Department of Agriculture information and education-program specialist.
In addition to the deaths in Tennessee, nine have been confirmed in Missouri, eight in Alabama, four each in Arkansas and Georgia, three in Illinois, two in South Carolina and one in Mississippi.
