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Story summary
- A heat dome lifted Death Valley, California, to 126 °F this weekend.
- Record highs above 100 °F were forecast for at least 12 western states.
- Heat alerts covered 40 million people, with 12 million at Level 4 extreme risk, Maricopa County, Arizona, logging 40 heat-related deaths.
- The heat wave dried the Colorado River Basin and pushed Lake Mead and Lake Powell to historic lows.
- Nighttime lows stayed about 10 °F above normal, raising illness risk.
