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 heavy wind and rain is still generated by Hurricane Irene, more than a million homes and businesses are without power or phone service today Sunday. And as the storm moves closer, outage are expected to increase in the region.

According to the Washington Post, more than 30,000 Pepco customers had lost power by 9PM on Saturday. A Pepco spokesman declined to say if the numbers had been expected but he did tell the Washington Post that amid criticism of the company’s reliability, he would agreed that the storm will prove “a major test for the company.”

It was expected that the worst of Hurricane Irene was going to hit the American capital between Saturday night and Sunday Morning. Associated Press reported that the residents of Washington was just about to pull themselves together after the earthquake earlier in the week when this new force of nature came knocking. Forecasts expected several inches of rain and wind of up to 60 mph including possible flash flooding.

The consequences of the storm will prove a major test to the capital’s disaster preparation.   “I don’t think Washington is equipped for a big storm or evacuation or anything like that,” Melvin Holloway, a retired District of Columbia water department employee told AP on Saturday. “There’s just no communication.”

One of the issues is the possibility of flooding but as the city has failed to renovate the flood-control system in time, the city must turn to sandbags in order to protect important buildings – not to mention people’s own homes.

AP reports that hundreds were lining up for up to two hours to collect sandbags for their homes. Around 15,000 bags were handed out in two days. “They should have done it earlier,” said one Tina Harris, 36, who had waited an hour and a half on Saturday afternoon.

In New York, the city has been bracing itself for worst case scenario and while the New York Stock Exchange is hoping to open on Monday, Hurricane Irene has the final say according to Reuter’s report. Given the pressure on the American market, investors may be a little anxious – and with good reason, as they rely on the NYSE to open for business. Since the marketplace, including the NYSE, is mostly automated, it is mainly a matter of reliable power. Unless there is a major outage, electronic trading will continue as normal.

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