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As much of US swelters, here are 5 worst heat waves of past 30 years

Many Americans across the US were feeling the heat Monday, but how hot is it? Here is a look at the five deadliest US heat waves/droughts since the worst recorded since 1980.

3. Summer 1999

Mitch Jacobson/AP/File
Children from two famlies in New York sleep on the sidewalk in front of their building to escape the heat July 7, 1999, when a power outage coincided with the blistering heat wave.

  • By David Karas Contributor

Some 502 deaths and at least $1.2 billion in damage resulted from the summer drought and heat wave that struck the East Coast in particular, estimate officials from the National Climate Data Center. The aftermath included extensive losses in the agriculture industry, and temperatures exceeded those on the record books.

In Texas, 24 consecutive days with temperatures above 100 degrees signaled the fourth longest heat wave of its kind on record to that date.

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