South bakes, humidity feels like 100-plus degrees

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The South is roasting under temperatures and humidity that make beaches feel more like a bakehouse, and heat advisories were posted from the Atlantic to the Great Plains.

Forecasts for today’s highs were mainly in the upper 90s to 100. The heat index, which adds humidity and temperature to measure how it feels, was well over 100 degrees from South Carolina to eastern Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service urged people to stay out of the sun, drink fluids and get some air conditioning.

Hot summers are nothing new for the South. But forecasters say high humidity from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic is exacerbating the pain. It’s been hot for days, too.

In Charleston, S.C., a city worker who helps the elderly said one woman ran up a $600 electric bill for her window air conditioner.