Heat wave in the West: Unseasonably hot weather continues today from Portland, Oregon to portions of southern California, as well as Phoenix and Las Vegas. Highs will reach 95°-115° in many locations, 10 to 20 degrees above normal for mid-June. More daily records could be tied or broken. Drivers: Make sure your trucks are in tip-top shape, and don’t forget to stay hydrated! Take a few extra swigs of water even when you don’t feel thirsty. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued Heat Advisories and Excessive Heat Warnings across the region.
Ongoing floods disrupting transportation: As of June 6, Upper Mississippi River locks 12 to 27— from the Illinois-Wisconsin border to St. Louis—remain closed, and barge traffic has been suspended at the ports of Little Rock and St. Louis. Many of these barges are carrying grains, but can’t make it to ports on the northern Gulf of Mexico for export. Some rail service to and from the Port of Little Rock may still be cut off. Also, Sections of I-29 remain closed from St. Joseph, Missouri to US-34 in western Iowa, as well as from Council Bluffs to Loveland, Iowa; I-680 (Mormon Bridge) from the Nebraska border to the I-29 junction is also closed. Several sections of BNSF and Union Pacific subdivisions are still out of service from Kansas City to southern Illinois, and from Omaha to northwestern Missouri.
Tropical system in the East: Severe cyclone named Vayu has developed in the northern Arabian sea. The center of Vayu was around 200 miles west of Mumbai, India as of 7:00 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. Eastern time) today (June 12), and the storm’s maximum winds were 105 mph. Reliance Petroleum Ltd in Jamnagar may sustain wind damage Thursday night into Friday, with gusts near 60 mph possible.