Los Angeles, Las Vegas among 5 US cities bracing for extreme heat

Meanwhile, flash flooding is expected in parts of the East.

More than 45 million people from California to the Dakotas are on alert for dangerous heat on Sunday, with several major cities, including Los Angeles, under extreme heat warnings.

Temperatures are expected to soar into the triple digits across parts of the West and Great Plains, challenging daily high-temperature records in Phoenix, Arizona, which is expected to see 116 degrees on Sunday, and Rapid City, South Dakota, where it could hit 103.

Phoenix is also among five major cities – including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Tucson and Salt Lake City – where extreme heat warnings are in place Sunday.

Heat advisories are also in effect for Denver, Fresno, Calif., Rapid City, South Dakota and Bismarck, North Dakota, where high temperatures are forecast to reach the triple digits on Sunday afternoon.

The high temperatures, combined with extremely dry conditions and gusty winds, are also increasing the fire danger across parts of the Northwest.

A fast-moving wildfire in Spokane County, Washington, continued to burn Sunday after igniting on Saturday, consuming more than 5,000 acres and prompting numerous evacuations, according to local authorities.

An estimated 600 structures have been damaged or destroyed by the wildfires with some 4,000 structures are threatened by the blaze, according to state officials.

Elsewhere in the West, red flag warnings for increased fire risk are in place from Montana to Utah. Parts of Nebraska, Nevada, and the Dakotas are also under red flag warnings due to the ongoing hot, dry and windy conditions.

Some of the worst fire danger conditions will be across portions of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, including Great Falls, Bozeman, and Idaho Falls.

Elevated flash-flood risk in parts of the East

Scattered flash flooding from the lower Great Lakes to the central Appalachians and along Florida’s Gulf Coast is possible on Sunday. Rounds of showers and thunderstorms could bring rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches, with isolated amounts up to 4 inches possible where the heaviest rain develops.

Flood watches have been posted Sunday from Michigan and Indiana, and across parts of Western New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina.

Most of West Virginia is also under a flood watch Sunday.

By Monday, the risk of flash flooding will spread further across the Northeast, including New York City, and into New England.

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