'Massive heat wave' predicted for next week - msnbc.com

Ice dump is one way to cool off; Texas, Oklahoma don't get a break

Below:

David Alvey  /  Hawaiian Falls

Hundreds of children and adults watch as ice is dumped in the wavepool at Hawaiian Falls/The Colony on Wednesday

While much of the U.S. was cooler Thursday ahead of another heat wave forecast for next week, temperatures were still around triple digits in Oklahoma and Texas — where ways to beat the heat included dumping 2,400 pounds of ice into a pool with hundreds of people.

"The stage is being set for a massive heat wave to develop into next week as a large area of high pressure is anticipated to circulate hot and humid air over much of the central and eastern U.S.," the National Weather Service warned. "Maximum heat index values of at least 100°F are likely across much of this area by the middle of next week, with heat index values in excess of 110°F possible over portions of these areas."

This National Weather Service forecast shows much of the U.S. with heat indices above 100 on Wednesday.

An amusement park outside Dallas decided it would cool off folks by dumping 2,400 pounds of ice into its wavepool on Wednesday.

"We normally do this once a year when the temps have been in the 100s for more than a week," said David Alvey, a spokesman for Hawaiian Falls/The Colony.

Alvey didn't catch the temperature when the ice was dumped at 2 p.m., but added: "My thermometer said, 'Hotter than blazes.'"

"Just being around the ice dropped the temp by at least 10 degrees," he said. "The kids I talked to in the water after the dump said they felt a cool breeze as soon as the wheelbarrows dumped the first load."

Both Texas and Oklahoma are expected to continue with temperatures up to 105 degrees through the weekend.

That heat will spread into the Midwest by the weekend and persist into early next week, weather.com reported.

That means it could feel like 105 degrees or above over a large swath of the nation this weekend, from the Dakotas and Minnesota to Texas and Louisiana.

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In anticipation of that spreading heat wave, the National Weather Service on Thursday issued new heat advisories for areas just north of Texas:

• Tulsa, Okla.: a heat warning was issued for Thursday and a heat watch runs through Wednesday night;
• Kansas City, Mo.: heat watch runs from Friday morning through Monday night;
• Topeka, Kan.: heat watch runs from Friday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon;
• Omaha, Neb.: heat watch runs from Friday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon.

via msnbc.msn.com