4th July weather: Deadly heatwave expected to hit huge swathes of US on Independence Day

Large swaths of the United States are expecting scorching temperatures and humidity that are expected to last until after the Fourth of July celebrations, when America celebrates its independence as a nation.

Nearly 80 million people will remain under a heat advisory or warning Tuesday, and some places in the eastern US will see temperatures reaching 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (38 to 43 degrees Celsius).

The advisories and warnings stretch from central Virginia, all the way north to eastern Maine. That’s a swath of the US that includes some of the largest cities in the United States, including the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan areas.

The recent heat wave that has been impacting the United Sates has already led to at leas one death, and two other deaths are under investigation to determine whether they were caused by heat.

The confirmed death occurred on Saturday in Pennsylvania, when a woman working in her garden died from the heat. She reportedly went into cardiac arrest while working, and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

There are two possible heat-related deaths in Kansas City, Missouri, as well.

One of those deaths involved a man in his 80s who died Monday. The other was a woman in her 40s, who died last week.

Excessive heat warnings and advisories have been posted for a big portion of New York and New Jersey, with heat value indexes — what it actually feels like when taking into account other factors like humidity — reaching 105 Fahrenheit.

The National Weather Service in New York noted that a seven day heat wave is pretty rare — and occurs has not occurred in the area for 33 years.

Residents of areas in the US experiencing heat waves have been warned to drink plenty of fluids, remain in air-conditioned rooms, and stay out of the sun.

The most at-risk populations are the elderly, children, and individuals with metal illnesses.