LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas baked Wednesday in its record fifth consecutive day of temperatures sizzling at 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) or greater amid a lengthening hot spell that is expected to broil much of the U.S. into the weekend.
The temperature climbed to 115 shortly after 1 p.m. at Harry Reid International Airport, breaking the old mark of four consecutive days set in July 2005. And the record could be extended, or even doubled, by the weekend.
Even by desert standards, the prolonged baking that Nevada's largest city is experiencing is nearly unprecedented, with forecasters calling it ''the most extreme heat wave'' since the National Weather Service began keeping records in Las Vegas in 1937.
Already the city has broken 16 heat records since June 1, well before the official start of summer, ''and we're not even halfway through July yet,'' meteorologist Morgan Stessman said Wednesday. That includes an all-time high of 120 F (48.8 C) set on Sunday, which beat the previous 117 F (47.2 C) record.
Alyse Sobosan said this July has felt the hottest in the 15 years she has lived in Las Vegas. She said she doesn't step outside during the day if she can help it.
''It's oppressively hot,'' she said. ''It's like you can't really live your life.''
It's also dangerously hot, health officials have emphasized. There have been at least nine heat-related deaths this year in Clark County, which encompasses Las Vegas, according to the county coroner's office. Officials say the toll is likely higher.
''Even people of average age who are seemingly healthy can suffer heat illness when it's so hot it's hard for your body to cool down,'' said Alexis Brignola, an epidemiologist at the Southern Nevada Health District.