soaring to nearly 120 degrees. the dangerous temperatures only expected to get worse over the next few days. and the record heat is fueling several new brush fires here in southern california. they are erupting in size and they are forcing evacuations. nbc news meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking the numbers for us but we will begin with nbc marissa power instilling, phoenix. marissa, just how are people they re coping with this incredible heat? yes listen it is no secret phoenix is used to soaring temperatures but even people who live there are struggling to find relief amid what could only be described as a heat marathon. millions of americans waking up to yet another day of extreme weather. water logged for ahmaud bracing for more rain after catastrophic flooding. down, south extreme heat breaking more records coast to coast. from miami, until death valley, or the hottest place on earth is about to get even hotter. predicted this weekend to reach a scorching 13
he s also asking the georgia supreme court to shut down district tierney fani willis s investigation into whether trump and its allies tried to overturn the 2020 election. in a filing yesterday in that case trump s legal team writes that allowing the georgia investigation to continue with cause, quote, reputational harm to the petitioner as he seeks his party s nomination for the presidency of the united states via a flagrant disregard for in violation of, his fundamental constitutional rights. and i spoke last night with congressman, jamie raskin, and about these increasingly desperate looking moose on the part of the trump team. listen to what he told me. you can t prosecute him when he is president, because he s president. you can t prosecute him after he sees president, because he is running for president. you can t impeach and convict him, they argued. you can t use the impeachment process because, really, he should be tried, they say. use the criminal statutes. but you
but also with law enforcement. such a scary situation. really sad, thank you very much kathy park. let s head to marissa now. in phoenix, no stranger to extreme heat. now moving on to the third week of 110-degree days. how big of a challenge is it now for first responders there? reporter: this is something weave had a chance to see firsthand. we ve been with the phoenix fire department as well as go into an er. we ve seen the impact this has had. it s not just the heat. we re talking about an area this is arizona. they know the dry desert heat. they know just how hot it gets in the summers, so they re no stranger to that alone. it s just this stretch, this marathon. that s what s really weighing and wearing down a lot of folks around here. when we went into the er, we saw hallways lined with people on stretchers, hooked up to ivs. we spoke with a physician who told us he s been there for
and having to try to stay cool themselves while they re trying to help the city stay cool at the same time. good luck to all of those first responders and, of course, hopefully people can do the right thing and stay safe. thank you, marissa para. let s head to michelle now. i think we re all wondering what is going on with this on going extreme weather. it s week after week after week. hi there, ana. part of the problem, the climate connection. we have a traffic jam in the atmosphere. things are not moving. the high pressure in the southwest is acting like a heat pump. we have a warming pacific ocean from el nino. the waters off florida in the upper 90s, almost jacuzzi-like. as we look today, we re looking at 13 states impacted by heat alerts. we have 73 million people still impacted by heat alerts, whether a heat advisory, heat watch, heat warning. it s a heat marathon. it s fatiguing physically. it s fatiguing emotionally, too,
hydrated. battling the heat and burning at the same time. so it is not just here, hospitals around the country are reporting an influx of patients suffering from heat related illness. they re asking you to keep an eye out for any symptoms which include, headaches dizziness, shortness of breath, elevated heart rate and feeling weak. ali, i will add to things here. it has been so hot, we have been here we actually had parts of our equipment now function. we have had some pieces of our equipment melt from being out in the sun all day. and i will tell you, this again we talk about phoenix being so hot and people being used to this in phoenix. the thing is, the thing that everybody agrees about is just the fact that this has been going on. it s a heat marathon so it really as putting a strain on these workers. everyone that s out, here whether it s people working outside or the people working to keep them cool. people always facetiously joke it s a dry heat but when your body temperatur