FALKEN HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — Many parts of the U.S. have experienced a rough week for weather, from heat waves to snowstorms to flash flooding.
Here are some weather events:
Heat wave hits the Midwest
Millions of people in the Midwest have been enduring dangerous heat and humidity.
An emergency doctor treating Minnesota State Fairgoers for heat illnesses Monday saw firefighters cut off two people's swollen fingers in hot weather that combined with humidity made the temperature feel well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius).
Soaring temperatures in late summer also prompted some Midwestern schools to dismiss classes early or cancel sports activities. The National Weather Service has issued heat warnings or advisories in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Cooling centers have opened in several cities, including Chicago.
Forecasters say sweltering conditions will also hit the Midwest on Tuesday before the heat wave moves to the south and east.
There's been a snowstorm in the mountains on the West Coast
An unusually cold storm hit West Coast mountain peaks late last week, bringing a hint of winter to August. The system descends from the Gulf of Alaska, across the Pacific Northwest and into California. High-altitude dust also occurred at Mount Rainier southeast of Seattle and at Bachelor Mountain Resort in central Oregon.
Mount Shasta, a 14,163-foot (4,317-meter) volcano in the Cascade Mountains in northern California, is covered in a white blanket after storm clouds. Lake Helen, at an elevation of 10,400 feet (3,170 meters), has about half a foot (15 centimeters) of snow, with more snow accumulating at higher elevations, according to the U.S. Forest Service Shasta Ranger Station.
Tropical storm brings heavy rain to Hawaii
Three tropical cyclones were swirling over the Pacific on Tuesday, including Tropical Storm Horn, which brought heavy rain to Hawaii; Hurricane Gilma was weakening; and Tropical Storm Hector was churning westward away from the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.
The biggest impacts from Tropical Storm Horn (pronounced hoe-NEH) will be rainfall and flash flooding, which will result in road closures, downed power lines and damaged trees in parts of the Big Island, said William Ashue, a forecaster with the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Authorities said there were no reports of injuries or significant damage.
Deadly Alaska landslide sweeps away homes
A landslide in Ketchikan, Alaska, carved a path down a steep, forested hillside and destroyed several homes, the latest disaster in the mountainous region. Sunday's landslide killed one person, injured three others and prompted mandatory evacuations of homes around the city.
The landslide area remained unstable Monday, and authorities said state and local geologists would soon arrive in the area to assess the area for potential secondary landslides. Last November, a landslide in Wrangell, north of Ketchikan, destroyed two homes and killed six people, including a family of five.
Flash flood hits Grand Canyon National Park
The body of an Arizona woman who went missing after a flash flood in Grand Canyon National Park on Sunday has been found, park rangers said. The body of 33-year-old Chenoa Nickerson was discovered by a group of people rafting along the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, the park said in a statement.
Nickerson was hiking in Havasu Creek, about half a mile (800 meters) from its confluence with the Colorado River when the flash flood occurred. Nickerson's husband was one of more than 100 people who evacuated safely.
Flooding trapped several hikers in areas above and below Beaver Falls, one of a series of often blue-green waterfalls that draw visitors from around the world to the Havasupai tribe's reservation. The area is prone to flooding, causing its iconic waterfalls to turn chocolate brown.
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