Great Lakes Area Swelters as Gulf Is Battered by Storms, Tornadoes

Temperatures broke records as far north as the Great Lakes and kept climbing to 100 Sunday, while heavy thunderstorms and tornadoes pounded the Gulf Coast from flood-weary Texas to Alabama.

Milwaukee reached a record high at 11:02 a.m., with a reading of 92, and continued on to 101, the first time the city has hit the century mark in 32 years.

Minneapolis hit a record 98; Alpena, Mich., on the shore of cool Lake Huron, tied its record of 94, while Marquette, Mich., on the shore of chilly Lake Superior, reached a record 88.

Records also toppled in Iowa, with 101 degrees at Burlington in the early afternoon, and Moline, Ill., soared to a record 101 in its third consecutive day of record heat. Peoria, Ill., hit 99, erasing a record that had stood since 1897.

Paul Tanghey, 17, an employee at the Dairy Queen in Moline, said it was too hot even to go get ice cream.

“Business is pretty slow,” Tanghey said. “When it gets too hot, people don’t want to go outdoors. They’d rather stay home in the air conditioning.”

Elsewhere, Lincoln, Neb., broke its record of 100 by one degree; St. Louis had a record 97, and Paducah, Ky., reached a record 100.

Not to be outdone, Tucson sizzled to a record 107 before lunchtime, and Phoenix hit 115, only tying a record.

Thunderstorms swirled to life in the heat from Texas to Alabama, where tornadoes touched down in Wayside, Berry and Winfield.

In Texas, up to three inches of rain fell in one hour in McAllen, where a tornado ripped the roofs off several structures and downed power lines.

More than two inches fell in Brownsville, where the weight of accumulated rain collapsed the roof of a building being constructed.

Houston had its second day of sunshine, while flooding that had closed many low-lying roads was receding.