Triple-digit temperatures have states feeling the heat

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Cities simmered with triple-digit temperatures Monday, driving air conditioners to the max and toppling records as a heat wave choked a wide area of the nation.

Thermometers hit 100 degrees in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and the western tip of Tennessee, where Memphis hit 102 by midafternoon, the National Weather Service said. Readings were in the 90s from the western Plains to the Carolinas.

Montgomery broke a record Monday with an eighth straight day of 100-plus heat, hitting 101 by early afternoon. On Sunday, the city’s streets steamed at 106. Montgomery had seven-day hot streaks in 1990, 1954 and 1881.

Tuscaloosa and Birmingham also broke records Monday with temperatures edging over 100 for the seventh straight day.