BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An oppressive heat wave blamed for a death in Mississippi eased a little across the Southeast on Wednesday after a cold front pushed through the region, bringing damaging storms along with lower temperatures.
Stifling heat and humidity that had made it feel like it was 120 degrees in places was replaced by slightly cooler weather, forecasters said. Damaging overnight storms ripped up roofs, knocked down power lines and toppled trees in northwest Alabama. No injuries were reported, but the National Weather Service warned of additional severe thunderstorms near the Florida Panhandle as the front moved southward.
The excessive heat began earlier this week and stretched across much of the U.S. In the South, it limited outdoor work details for Alabama inmates and prompted requests from Baltimore teachers to install temporary fans in sweltering classrooms to make up for faulty air conditioning.
In Mississippi, Winston County Coroner Scott Gregory said a 74-year-old woman died of a heat-induced heart attack while mowing her lawn on Monday. The heat index was about 106 degrees at the time, he said, and the woman’s body temperature was about 105 degrees at a hospital where she was treated. Gregory said the woman’s family didn’t give permission for him to release her name, but she had a medical history that included multiple health problems and heart surgery.