CBS News
Weather woes forecast to continue as flooding in the Midwest turns deadly and extreme heat heads south
Millions of Americans sweated through a scorching weekend as temperatures soared across the U.S., while residents were rescued from floodwaters that forced evacuations across the Midwest. One person was killed during flooding in South Dakota, the governor said.
The National Weather Service said the worst of the heat wave would shift from the mid-Atlantic to portions of the southeast and southern Plains by Monday, brining welcome relief for major cities from Washington D.C. to Boston — but it may be short-lived.
Plenty of Americans were still sweating it out Monday, with more than 60 million people under heat advisories in 21 states. High temperatures were expected from South Dakota to Florida, and the heat is expected to start climbing again in the mid-Atlantic as the week goes on, even rising back toward triple digits by Wednesday.
Parts of the Midwest already inundated by floodwater, meanwhile, could see more significant rainfall in the days ahead.
Here is what we know:
Flooding kills 1 in South Dakota
At the borders of South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, floodwaters rose over several days.
In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem declared an emergency after severe flooding in the southeastern part. Several highways were closed. Areas south of Sioux Falls, the state’s largest city, had an estimated 10 to 15 inches of rain over three days, National Weather Service hydrologist Kevin Low said.
At least one person died in the floods, Noem said Sunday, without providing details.
Josh Jurgens/AP
Several rivers, including the Big Sioux, James and Vermillion, were expected to peak sometime Monday through Wednesday night, the governor said at a news conference.
“I want to remind everybody to remember the power of water and the flow of water, and to stay away from flooded areas,” Noem said. “We’ve got a few days in front of us here that’ll be a little rough, but we’ll get through it.”
Emergency management officials in the small South Dakota community of Dakota Dunes on Sunday issued a voluntary evacuation order for the area’s roughly 4,000 residents. Dakota Dunes is near the Nebraska and Iowa borders and is sandwiched between the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers, both of which are expected to crest in the coming days. Emergency management in Dakota Dunes warned residents that a mandatory evacuation could come quickly if flood barriers are breached.
Disaster declarations and evacuations in Iowa
In northwest Iowa, 13 rivers flooded the area, said Eric Tigges of Clay County emergency management. Entire neighborhoods — and at least one entire town — were evacuated, and the Iowa town of Spencer imposed a curfew Sunday for the second night in a row after flooding that surpassed the record set in 1953.
“When the flood gauge is underwater, it’s really high,” Tigges said at a news conference organized by Spencer officials.
Gov. Kim Reynolds declared a disaster for 21 counties in northern Iowa, including Sioux County. In drone video posted by the local sheriff, no streets were visible, just roofs and treetops poking above the water.
Reuters/Chris VB
National Guard troops were helping with water rescues and transporting needed medications lost in flooding.
“Businesses are shuttered. Main streets have been impacted,” Reynolds said. “Hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities were evacuated. Cities are without power, and some are without drinkable water.”
National Weather Service meteorologist Donna Dubberke said parts of northern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota, southern Minnesota and northwest Iowa received eight times the typical average rainfall. And more heavy rain is expected in the week ahead.
CBS Minnesota’s Jennifer Mayerle reported from Waterville that parts of the city were very literally underwater on Monday morning, and resident Lonnie Roemhildt said he’d heard the forecasts predicting even more rainfall.
“So, we’re just bracing,” he said. “And hopefully, it’s not going to get any worse than this. It’s ridiculous. I don’t even know if there’s a word for it. It’s just unbelievable.”
A state of emergency was in effect for the area, where as much as 18 inches of rain fell over the weekend. National Guard troops were expected to arrive Monday to and help residents cope with the rising flood waters.
Minor to moderate flooding was expected along the Missouri River, according to officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“As long as the levees hold, we’re not expecting any major impacts,” said John Remus, water management division chief for the corps in the Missouri River basin.
Elsewhere, the heat was the biggest worry.
Heat wave pushes south
The cities of Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia all saw record heat, and both the nation’s capital and Los Angles saw the mercury climb into the triple digits over the weekend.
From the beginning of the week, the stifling temperatures were expected to move to the south, but for many, caution would still be warranted.
“We still have this prolonged heat wave across portions of the Ohio Valley and into the Northeast,” weather service meteorologist Marc Chenard said Sunday. “We get a little bit of relief by early in the week, at least in the eastern U.S., the Northeast, but in general above-normal temperatures are going to cover a large portion of the country even into next week.”
“It’s more important for people who are going to be outside to stay hydrated, because heat, humidity and low winds, even if you’re in good shape and not really acclimated to it, it could be a danger,” said Bruce Thoren, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oklahoma. “It happens quickly.”
Last year the U.S. experienced the most heat waves since 1936, experts said. An AP analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that excessive heat contributed to more than 2,300 deaths, the highest in 45 years of records.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Beryl, the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, took shape Friday as it barreled its way toward the Caribbean.
Beryl was expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it approached the Windward Islands in the West Indies, the National Hurricane Center reported in its latest advisory late Friday night.
Beryl was centered about 1,110 miles southeast of Barbados, the hurricane center said, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and tropical storm-force winds extending 45 miles from its center. It was moving west at 18 mph.
The system was expected to hit the Windward Islands by late Sunday or Monday, and was forecast to bring anything from 3 to 6 inches of rain to the Windward Islands and Barbados. No watches or warnings were yet in place.
NOAA
Last week, Tropical Storm Alberto brought torrential flooding to portions of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. It was responsible for at least four deaths in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz, according to the Associated Press.
The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and lasts through Nov. 30. According to the hurricane center, the season’s first hurricane usually forms in early to mid-August, which would make Beryl unusual if it were to reach hurricane strength. In a report released last month, the NOAA predicted an “above average” hurricane season with 17 to 25 storms, 8 to 13 hurricanes and 4 to 7 major hurricanes of category 3 or higher.
A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, while a hurricane is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds greater than 74 mph.
CBS News
Martin Mull, beloved actor known for “Fernwood 2 Night,” “Roseanne” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” dies at 80
Martin Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development,” has died, his daughter said Friday. He was 80.
Mull’s Daughter, TV writer and comic artist Maggie Mull, said her father died at home on Thursday after “a valiant fight against a long illness.”
Mull, who was also a guitarist and painter, came to national fame with a recurring role on the Norman Lear-created satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” and the starring role in its spinoff, “Fernwood 2 Night,” on which he played the host of a satirical talk show.
Mat Hayward/Getty Images for Netflix
“He was known for excelling at every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing Red Roof Inn commercials,” Maggie Mull said in an Instagram post. “He would find that joke funny. He was never not funny. My dad will be deeply missed by his wife and daughter, by his friends and coworkers, by fellow artists and comedians and musicians, and —the sign of a truly exceptional person— by many, many dogs.”
Melissa Joan Hart, who acted alongside Mull in the series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” paid tribute to him on Instagram on Friday, calling him “a wonderful man who I am better for knowing.”
“I have such fond memories of working with him and being in awe of his huge body of work,” she wrote.
Known for his blonde hair and well-trimmed mustache, Mull was born in Chicago, raised in Ohio and Connecticut. He studied art in Rhode Island and Rome. He combined his music and comedy in hip Hollywood clubs in the 1970s.
“In 1976 I was a guitar player and sit-down comic appearing at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip when Norman Lear walked in and heard me,” Mull told The Associated Press in 1980. “He cast me as the wife beater on ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.’ Four months later I was spun off on my own show.”
In the 1980s he appeared in films including “Mr. Mom” and “Clue,” and in the 1990s had a recurring role on “Roseanne.”
He would later play private eye Gene Parmesan on “Arrested Development,” and would be nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for a guest turn on “Veep.”
