The record-breaking heat that has broiled the Southwest since Friday shows no signs of letting up. According to the National Weather Service, "triple-digit temperatures will be common across the Southwest" through at least Wednesday.
The temperature in Death Valley -- where the temperature reached 134 degrees in 1913, the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth -- hit 128 degrees Sunday. That mark set a record high for the month of June in the U.S. The weather service says to expect similar heat today.
Las Vegas tied its record high of 117 degrees Sunday, and the heat is being blamed for contributing to at least one death and an illness, reports The Las Vegas Sun.
In a sign of how inescapable the heat can be, Las Vegas also tied its record of "highest low," with the temperature dropping only to 89 degrees overnight, The Associated Press reports.
As we reported Friday, forecasters are warning people to stay cool and take precautions against the heat in much of Nevada, southeastern California, and western Arizona.
The weather service warns that nearby regions, from the valleys of the Northern Rockies to the Pacific Northwest, also could see temperatures rise above 100 degrees this week.
The news comes even as the latest U.S. drought report predicts areas of improvement west of Texas, including nearly all of New Mexico. But the drought is expected to persist in a much larger area.
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