When most people think of summer, they think of hot days that are enjoyable to spend outside. Bathing suits, swimming pools, the ocean, flip-flops, gardening, and cook-outs all come to mind, basically anything outside for people to take advantage of the warm weather. However, this summer, particularly the past few days, have been unbearable for much of the eastern United States as record breaking temperatures are causing power outages and even deaths.

“Hot and hotter will continue to be the story from the Plains to the Atlantic Coast the next few days,” the National Weather Service said Monday. “The widespread excessive heat warnings and heat advisories have certainly decreased in coverage, but temperatures will remain well above average across a large portion of the U.S.”

Over the past weekend, emergencies were announced in several states including Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and Washington D.C. as a result of the “hurricane-forced wind storms.” The storms have left severe damage, resulting in power outages and dangerous living conditions for those without power living in the sweltering heat.

According to the website Reuters, “The storms’ rampage came as sweltering temperatures topped 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) in several southern cities, including Atlanta, where the mercury hit an all-time record of 106 degrees (41 C) on Saturday and reached 105 on Sunday. Over two-dozen cities across 10 states set or tied all-time record high temperatures on Friday and Saturday, including Columbia, South Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Raleigh, North Carolina.”

Thus far, the storms have killed 22 people and have resulted in power outages in over three million homes, and as the heat index increases more deaths are anticipated.

David Glenn of the National Weather Center said that a man was killed when his shed collapsed on him in North Carolina. Additionally, six people in Virginia have died as a result of the storms, two were killed in Maryland, a falling tree killed two young cousins in New Jersey and two brothers, ages 3 and 5, were killed from heat stroke in Tennessee, according to reports.

Two-thirds of the state of Ohio lost power last Friday and to revive power, Ohio’s Governor John Kasich received federal emergency assistance.

Pepco CEO Jim Rigby told CNN, “”We’ve restored about 45% of the customers (which are considered households), but obviously, we’re not satisfied,” Rigby said. “We have a lot of work to do, and we won’t be satisfied until we have everyone back.”

According to CNN, Rigby also said that, “he understands the frustration some people may be experiencing. Crews from as far away as Canada’s New Brunswick have arrived to help, with more expected Monday. Our foot is on the pedal.”

As electrical companies are working hard to get the power restored for their customers, they are hoping to have regained power for 90% of households by Friday. Rigby, after making significant progress overnight, said he believes “we should be able to beat that.”

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As the weaker than expected storm finishes its visit to the eastern coast of the United States, authorities still call Irene a serious threat.

The tropical storm Irene moved slowly over the East Coast, bringing steady wind, rain, and flooding. The Associated Press reported that Irene hit Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and Washington D.C.

According to a Sunday article by the San Francisco Chronicle, 4 million homes and business were without power across the eastern United States on Sunday. Irene caused an estimated $3 billion in damages, a number that is likely to grow in the coming week.

Regardless of damage costs and power outages, many reports were quick to characterize Irene as “weaker than expected.”

“People are saying they’ve dodged a bullet … [but] people have lost lives. I don’t think you can say we dodged a bullet,” said Craig Fugate, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator, on the effects of Irene. The Los Angeles Times reported Monday of an estimated 35 deaths in the wake of the storm.

Experts from the National Weather Service announced on August 20 that Irene formed in the Atlantic.

On August 22, Irene’s momentum increased. The storm was declared a category 2 hurricane as it cut power to more than a million residents in Puerto Rico. Irene became a category 3 storm as it traveled toward the East Coast of the United States.

By the time the storm hit the North Carolina on Friday afternoon, it was considered a category 1. Hurricane Irene was later downgraded to a tropical storm.

Even though Irene showed weakening, many state authorities took careful precautions to evacuate residents from dangerous areas.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported that New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, ordered the mandatory evacuation of 370,000 residents in low-lying neighborhoods. “I think we made exactly the right call,” said Bloomberg on Sunday. The Journal also reported that no New York mayor had ever called for such a broad evacuation order in history.

President Obama expressed the dangers of Irene to the country. “While the storm has weakened as it moves north, it remains a dangerous storm that continues to produce heavy rain,” Obama said at the White House. “Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in the coming days as rivers swell past their banks.”

According to a statement put forth by the U.S. Department report, power was restored to 1.57 million households Monday. New York, Connecticut and New Jersey have the most residents still without electricity.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/eguchishintaro/

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