Heat Wave to Linger Through Sunday, Power Outages Persist

Armando Duke

Houston, TX - A high-pressure system blanketing the West is said to linger through Sunday, meteorologists said. While power outages will continue in California and in Missouri, thousands are still without power during a week of blistering temperatures.

In St. Louis, thousands are without power after a series of storms last week that knocked out its power grid when high winds tore trees down and took power lines with them. At least 83,000 people in St. Louis are still without electricity.

Electrical workers were being cautioned to be careful, after putting 18 hour days when one worker was hurt and another killed when he stepped on a live downed power line in the backyard of a home where he was working.

Utility workers from 13 surrounding states were assisting the 1,000 electrical workers in Missouri to restore power to the St. Louis area, the local power company, Ameren UE, said. A second storm on Friday added to the damage and cut power to about 600,000 customers at one time or another, Ameren reported.

The National Weather Service said temperatures Wednesday in the greater St. Louis area averaged between 100 to 105 degrees and that humidity levels remain high. A heat advisory remains in effect there.

Heading into an 11th straight day of 100-degree heat, California is sweating out the possibility of more blackouts, with at least 56 suspected heat-related deaths. So far, the heat wave has killed a reported 70 people in CA, MO and NY.

Some California communities faced their third day without electricity as the record-breaking temperatures strained transmission equipment.

Gregg Fishman, a spokesman for the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state's power grid said, "We're not out of the woods yet." Tens of thousands of customers in Northern and Southern California had no electricity. About 1,700 San Jose customers are facing their fourth day without power, with some residents sleeping in backyards and hotel rooms to escape the stifling heat.

Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman Brian Swanson said most outages were caused by equipment failures and not a shortage of electricity. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that the heat wave in California will last until this weekend when a low pressure system is supposed to move into the state.

The National Weather Service reported that temperatures in the greater Los Angeles area averaged 105 degrees Wednesday. A heat advisory remained in effect there until after 6pm local time.