The National Weather Service has posted 43 active heat advisories stretching from the Dakotas to the Gulf Coast, with forecasters warning that heat index values will climb as high as 108 degrees in parts of Mississippi on Saturday.
The advisories span 18 states — Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming — covering a broad swath of the central and southern U.S. In George, Greene, Perry, Stone and Wayne counties in Mississippi, the advisory runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. CDT with heat index values up to 108. Central North Dakota, including the James River Valley, faces heat index readings around 100 from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. CDT. Central, east-central, south-central and southeastern South Dakota are under advisories through 9 p.m. CDT with heat index values up to 103.
The advisories cover dozens of counties across the affected region, from the Missouri counties around St. Louis and Jefferson City to South Dakota’s Black Hills foothills and Pennington and Custer county plains, to Nebraska’s Cherry, Keya Paha and Rock counties. The pattern reflects a combination of high temperatures and elevated humidity producing dangerous heat index values across a wide, largely rural stretch of the country rather than a single regional event.
The National Weather Service is urging residents in advisory areas to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned spaces when possible, avoid direct sun exposure, and check on relatives and neighbors, particularly those without reliable access to cooling. The agency also reiterated a standing warning not to leave children or pets in unattended vehicles, noting that car interiors can reach lethal temperatures within minutes even on moderately warm days.
Heat remains the leading weather-related killer in the United States in most years, and the geographic spread of Saturday’s advisories — from Alaska to Louisiana — underscores how heat events are no longer confined to the traditional summer hot spots of the Southwest and Gulf Coast. Residents in advisory counties, including areas near Kansas City weather and Minneapolis weather, should expect conditions to persist through the evening hours before easing overnight.
Forecasters advise checking local NWS office updates, as advisory boundaries and expiration times vary by county and are subject to extension if the underlying heat and humidity pattern persists into the coming days.