Deadly heat wave brings warnings, disrupts events across US

July is officially the Earth's hottest month on record - breaking the previous record by more than half a degree. That's considered a wide margin by researchers.

OMAHA, Neb. — Scorching heat affecting almost 100 million people across a huge swath of the U.S. sent schools, outdoor workers and organizers of open-air events scrambling to adjust Tuesday — and claimed the life of a 1-year-old girl left in a Nebraska day care center's van on one of the hottest days of the year.

Officers and medics were called Monday afternoon to Kidz of the Future Childcare in Omaha for an unresponsive baby inside the van, police said. The call came as temperatures reached into the upper 90s and the heat index soared to about 110 degrees, part of heat wave that has been plaguing the central part of the country for days.

The child, Ra'Miyah Worthington, was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. Her parents questioned why her absence at the day care wasn't noticed.

"She loved, loved, loved her family," her mother, Sina Johnson, told the television station WOWT. "She loved her daddy. She was daddy's little girl."

Prosecutors charged the van driver, Ryan Williams, 62 of Omaha, on Tuesday with a felony count of child negligence resulting in death, which carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.

Williams

He told investigators he was distracted by a young boy who didn't want to get out of the van when he was unloading the vehicle and mistakenly forgot the girl inside, according to court documents. A second staff member came out to help get the boy, and Williams closed up the van without conducting the sweep of the vehicle that he said he normally does.

A bond hearing for Williams was set for Wednesday morning. Online court records didn’t yet list an attorney who could comment on his behalf, and a phone listing was disconnected.

"He was responsible for getting those kids inside," said Douglas County Chief Deputy Attorney Brenda Beadle. "That little girl was in that van between five and six hours with the temperature outside reaching nearly 100."

State officials said the day care would remain closed while the death is investigated.

It came as the National Weather Service issued heat alerts Tuesday for parts of 22 states stretching from the Midwest and Great Plains down to the Gulf Coast.

Heat waves rise off the road Tuesday as a cyclist makes his way through Water Works Park in Des Moines, Iowa.

The high temperatures in some states, including Nebraska, Iowa and parts of South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, are expected to be as much as 20 degrees above average.

Higher overnight temperatures and high humidity are expected to compound the effects of the heat, which the weather service said would stick around through Thursday and possibly into Friday.

In Missouri, firefighters helped remove 117 patients from a skilled nursing facility after the air conditioning failed in the sweltering weather. Most were taken to other nursing facilities but seven who had COVID-19 were taken to hospitals, authorities said.

The heat led schools across the Midwest to make changes to their outdoor activities, bringing recess indoors and postponing sports events from South Dakota to Indiana.

In eastern Iowa, the annual Taste of Iowa City event was moved from Thursday to next Tuesday to avoid having people congregate in temperatures expected to soar over 100 degrees.

Schools in the suburbs of Chicago delayed the start of classes to Friday or shifted to online learning and early release times.

A bicyclist rides past a screen Tuesday airing a news channel weather segment forecasting an upcoming heat wave at Daley Plaza in Chicago.

Chicago Public Schools — among the country's largest districts, with more than 340,000 students — did not announce alterations to its schedule. That drew concern from some parents about the conditions kids and teachers face this week, noting past issues in specific buildings with window air conditioners.

Organizers who planned an outdoor rally for workers' rights outside the Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee altered their plans with temperatures forecast to be near 100 degrees Wednesday.

A planned march to the debate location and rally were to go ahead, but speeches featuring U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and others were moved to an air-conditioned hall that will remain open for participants to cool down as needed.

Even in Florida, which is used to 90-plus temperatures in August, forecasters issued heat advisories in some areas, including Tallahassee. The heat index across the Panhandle was expected to top out at somewhere about 105 on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Beachgoers enjoy warm and sunny weather Tuesday at Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Mich.

"The heat through this week will be the main concern. Remember to practice heat safety by staying hydrated and taking breaks while outside," the weather service said Tuesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Midwest heat is a taste of what areas in the Southwest have borne this summer. Metro Phoenix, which recorded some of the hottest weather in the U.S. this summer, in recent days enjoyed unseasonably lower temperatures of about or under 100 after sweltering through most of July with highs at or above 110. Thanks to the cloud cover, the high temperature Monday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport reached only 91.

A wide brimmed planters hat helps shield auto detailer Aaron Cole as he uses a power sprayer Monday to clean a trailer in 102-degree heat in Jackson, Miss.

That will change by the weekend, with a high of 109 forecast for Saturday.

In south Texas, the Brownsville area saw 22 consecutive days of 100-plus temperatures end Tuesday when Tropical Storm Harold brought some relief, weather service meteorologist Joshua Schroeder said.

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July is officially the Earth's hottest month on record - breaking the previous record by more than half a degree. That's considered a wide mar…