Some of the hottest spots in the nation on Tuesday were in very different locations: Texas’s border region, which is used to sweltering summer temperatures in the triple digits, and much farther north in Pittsburgh, Pa., which … is generally not.
In Texas, where the Laredo Heat Soccer Club has turned the region’s usual summer state into a te am logo, some cities have already experienced days of triple-digit heat in June.
“We’re resilient people,” said Mayor Victor Treviño of Laredo, Texas. “We know how to handle situations like this.”
Still, this week’s temperatures are particularly punishing. In Laredo, the heat wave is compounding drought conditions that have led the city to enact water restrictions, a “double whammy,” Mr. Treviño said. He said the heat is also exacerbated by unusually high levels of humidity.
Residents in Pittsburgh, where the heat index on Tuesday was flirting with 100 degrees, were less acclimated to triple-digit temperatures.
Jessica McAtee, the curator of animal husbandry and wellness at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, said that on hot days, the aviary closely monitors the birds and provides more cooling options, such as mist machines and ice. Like people, birds can experience heat stroke.
Ms. McAtee said she was pleased to see the birds making use of the opportunities to stay cool. The Steller’s sea eagle sat close to the mist machines, the condors retreated to their caves, the kookaburras dried off after a bath and the barred owl rested in its shaded box.
“They’re staying comfortable,” she said.
The night is expected to offer Pittsburgh little relief, with overnight low temperatures forecast to remain at or above 70 degrees through Sunday. If the lows stay that warm, the temperatures will set a record. There has never been a six-day stretch of lows that warm in June over the 154-year period of record, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.