Dangerous heat wave continues in West Texas, with triple-digit temperature expected through the week

Dangerous heat is expected to continue across West Texas through Wednesday evening and likely the rest of the week, as the region remains in the grips of a sweltering heat wave affecting most of the state.

The National Weather Service office in Midland has issued heat advisories and warnings for most of the Big Bend and Permian Basin regions through at least Wednesday evening, with forecasters warning that temperatures will again shoot above 100 degrees in the coming days.

Many parts of West Texas hit near-record daily temperatures on Monday, while the Rio Grande Village campground in Big Bend National Park hit 117 degrees, tying that location’s all-time high temperature since record keeping began there about two decades ago.

Tuesday’s afternoon temperatures could even be “a degree or so warmer” from Monday, forecasters said.

“We’re mostly near records, and in some locations potentially breaking records,” said Devin Chehak, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Midland.

Chehak said West Texas is also seeing an unusually long stretch of triple-digit days that forecasters believe could even stretch into early July.

“In terms of the persistence of the heat, that’s also potentially in record territory,” he said.

The Salvation Army has opened cooling centers in Midland and Odessa, as the non-profit organization typically does whenever temperatures in the area reach the triple digits.

As with the last few days, areas along the Rio Grande and parts of the Permian Basin are expected to see the most extreme temperatures as the heat wave continues. High temperatures could again top 110 degrees in those regions through at least Wednesday.

Temperatures are still expected to climb into the triple digits in the mountain areas of the Big Bend and along the I-10 corridor, forecasters said.

Texas electric grid officials on Tuesday issued calls for voluntary power conservation as the state is expected to see record-high power demand from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Still, officials stressed the system is “not in emergency operations” at the moment.