Dallas roasts for 38 days, and counting

DALLAS, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- The string of triple-digit temperature days in Dallas reached 38, with forecasters warning the heatwave could stretch into the middle of August.

The current heat spell ranks second on the all-time list for the number of consecutive days of 100-degree temperatures in Dallas, eclipsing a 29-day span in 1998, AccuWeather.com reported Tuesday.

The longest stretch of days of 100-degree temperatures in Dallas was 42 during the summer of 1980.

"The current string of 100-degree days will probably last through the middle of August," said AccuWeather.com meteorologist Paul Pastelok.

Dallas wasn't the only place cooking in July.

In Oklahoma, the 88.9-degree average daily temperature in July set a record as the state's hottest month ever and was the warmest for any state during any month on record, data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicated.

The heat wave baking much of the country east of the Rockies still holds portions of the nation's south-central region in its grasp and made last month the fourth-hottest July on record in the United States, NOAA said reported. The hottest Julys were in 2003, 1936 and 1934.

Heat-related deaths in Oklahoma and Texas reached 22, state health agencies said.

Across the country, 2,755 communities reported either breaking or tying heat records for specific dates in July and another 1,042 records were broken or tied in the first six days of August, the National Weather Service said.

"This is record-setting heat," Chris Vaccaro of the NWS told USA Today. "In many cases, it's unprecedented heat."