US heatwave eases as cold front brings rain

Cooler weather and a band of rain is bringing relief to millions of Americans and an end to a heatwave that has claimed at least 46 lives.

A cold front moved in to the US Midwest and East Coast late on Sunday, lowering temperatures across the region.

The 11-day heatwave saw records tumble in many cities, including Washington DC, and millions lost power as a devastating storm hit the region.

Forecasters say hot weather could now affect the western US and Canada.

The cold front lowered temperatures by some 15F (9.5C) as it moved across the South and mid-Atlantic on Sunday night.

Hundreds of temperature records fell across the affected area on Friday and Saturday, as many areas saw the levels remain consistently above 95F (35C).

Crops shrivelled and roads and railway lines buckled in the heat.

Media reports say many of the deaths were of elderly people stuck in homes without air conditioning because of ongoing power cuts.

Ten deaths in Chicago were blamed on the heat, and at least 10 each in the eastern states of Virginia and Maryland.

Three each died in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and two in Tennessee.

A four-month-old girl died after being left in a car for "an extended period" outside her home in Greenfield, Indiana.
'Hotter than hell'

On Saturday temperatures reached 105F (41C) in Washington DC - just short of the hottest ever recorded in the city - and 107F (42C) in St Louis, Missouri, which also extended its record for consecutive days over 100F to 10.

The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani says people have been enduring triple-digit temperatures

"It's hotter than hell," tourist John Ghio, visiting the White House, told Reuters news agency.

"Too hot," said Chinese tourist Xiao Duan, 30, who was also visiting Washington.

"My father says it's like we're being burned by flames."

High temperatures have also hit parts of Canada, with temperatures on Friday breaking 11 daily records in Ontario.

Hundreds of thousands of people in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland and Indiana are still enduring power cuts caused by storms that swept through the area a week ago.

A number of cities have opened cooling centres and extended opening hours for public swimming pools.

Some communities are offering meals to residents whose food has spoiled after their refrigerators stopped working.

Officials in Chicago cancelled summer school classes in 21 buildings without air conditioning because of the heat.

The heat there buckled a major road, cracking and bulging part of Columbus Drive by 5in (12cm).

- BBC News