An early heat wave has been bringing high temperatures to the western United States. Scientists are warning that the extreme heat and dry conditions might become normal. Many places in the American West have been reporting drought conditions for many years. Park Williams is an associate professor in geography with the University of California, Los Angeles. He said, “Heat waves are getting worse in the West because the soil is so dry.” Williams said soil in the western half of the country is the driest it has been since 1895. For example, Phoenix, Arizona is having some of the highest temperatures this week. On Wednesday, it reached 46 degrees Celsius. “We could have two, three, four, five of these heat waves before the end of the summer,” Williams said. An extreme heat warning is in effect until at least Sunday. Reports say in Palm Springs, California, the temperature reached 49 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Weather experts say a high-pressure system spread over the west this week, causing unusually hot days. Officials in California asked people to save electricity for a few hours on Thursday. They asked people to set their air-conditioning systems to 25.5 degrees Celsius or higher and turn off unnecessary lights and electronics. Officials said they do not expect power outages. But that could change if temperatures remain high in the coming days. The San Francisco Bay area has also had higher than normal temperatures. Kathleen Craft works at a shelter in the city of Livermore, California. She said temperatures had reached 37 degrees Celsius but just one woman came to a special cooling center. Craft said she expects more people as temperatures rise.
Title: Extreme Heat Wave Continues in US West
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/A.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Extreme Heat Wave Continues in US West' data-article-id='5701'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='7354'>An early heat wave has been bringing high temperatures to the western United States.</span> <span data-start-time='7354' data-end-time='15792'>Scientists are warning that the extreme heat and dry conditions might become normal. </span> <span data-start-time='15792' data-end-time='23854'>Many places in the American West have been reporting drought conditions for many years.</span> <span data-start-time='23854' data-end-time='33500'>Park Williams is an associate professor in geography with the University of California, Los Angeles. </span> <span data-start-time='33500' data-end-time='40875'>He said, “Heat waves are getting worse in the West because the soil is so dry.” </span> <span data-start-time='40875' data-end-time='50708'>Williams said soil in the western half of the country is the driest it has been since 1895.</span> <span data-start-time='50708' data-end-time='57271'>For example, Phoenix, Arizona is having some of the highest temperatures this week. </span> <span data-start-time='57271' data-end-time='62104'>On Wednesday, it reached 46 degrees Celsius.</span> <span data-start-time='62104' data-end-time='70354'>“We could have two, three, four, five of these heat waves before the end of the summer,” Williams said.</span> <span data-start-time='70354' data-end-time='76229'>An extreme heat warning is in effect until at least Sunday.</span> <span data-start-time='76229' data-end-time='85792'>Reports say in Palm Springs, California, the temperature reached 49 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. </span> <span data-start-time='85792' data-end-time='95271'>Weather experts say a high-pressure system spread over the west this week, causing unusually hot days.</span> <span data-start-time='95271' data-end-time='103333'>Officials in California asked people to save electricity for a few hours on Thursday. </span> <span data-start-time='103333' data-end-time='116417'>They asked people to set their air-conditioning systems to 25.5 degrees Celsius or higher and turn off unnecessary lights and electronics. </span> <span data-start-time='116417' data-end-time='120875'>Officials said they do not expect power outages. </span> <span data-start-time='120875' data-end-time='126854'>But that could change if temperatures remain high in the coming days.</span> <span data-start-time='126854' data-end-time='133333'>The San Francisco Bay area has also had higher than normal temperatures. </span> <span data-start-time='133333' data-end-time='139750'>Kathleen Craft works at a shelter in the city of Livermore, California. </span> <span data-start-time='139750' data-end-time='148792'>She said temperatures had reached 37 degrees Celsius but just one woman came to a special cooling center. </span> <span data-start-time='148792' data-end-time='154125'>Craft said she expects more people as temperatures rise.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/A.jpeg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=17605 data-hint-location='15792' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/what_does_the_word_drought_mean.wav'>What does the word drought mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice=' prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/_prolonged_period_of_abnormally_low_rainfall_leading_to_a_shortage_of_water.wav'><span> prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/a_preliminary_version_of_a_piece_of_writing.wav'><span>a preliminary version of a piece of writing</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/a_small_fried_cake_of_sweetened_dough_typically_in_the_shape_of_a_ball_or_ring.wav'><span>a small fried cake of sweetened dough, typically in the shape of a ball or ring</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/take_a_liquid_into_the_mouth_and_swallow.wav'><span>take a liquid into the mouth and swallow</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=17606 data-hint-location='50708' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/in_which_western_state_is_the_city_phoenix.wav'>In which western state is the city Phoenix?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='Arizona'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/arizona.wav'><span>Arizona</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/maryland.wav'><span>Maryland</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/wyoming.wav'><span>Wyoming</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/new_mexico.wav'><span>New Mexico</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=17607 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/an_early_heat_wave_has_been_bringing__blank__temperatures_to_the_western_united_states.wav'>An early heat wave has been bringing <span class='blank'>high</span> temperatures to the western United States.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='high'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/high.wav'><span>high</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/low.wav'><span>low</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/cold.wav'><span>cold</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5162/normal.wav'><span>normal</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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