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       More than 60 million Americans are under heat alerts as temperatures soar toward record highs across the Upper Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Tuesday. Near-record heat is also poised to make a return to parts of the South in the days ahead.

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       Heat advisories span from Texas to the Northeast and include Dallas, Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Syracuse, Hartford and Burlington, Vt.

       Where extreme heat will pose the biggest threat: Look up your city

       “Simply put, the next several days will be dangerously hot,” wrote the National Weather Service office serving Philadelphia, where heat advisories are in effect through at least Wednesday.

       The ongoing heat wave began Saturday over the central states before expanding into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Sunday and Monday. Dozens of record highs — many around the century mark — have been set from Texas to Minnesota and from Washington to Maine.

       While the heat has thus far been accompanied by lower humidity than earlier in the summer, it is creeping upward, especially in the Mid-Atlantic, where heat indexes — a measure of how hot it feels factoring in humidity — are forecast to reach 100 to 105 on Tuesday and could surpass 105 in a few locations Wednesday.

       Over the coming days, cooler air will begin sinking southward from the north-central U.S., eventually reaching the East Coast late week. But as one heads toward the nation’s southern tier, the heat will persist, as it has for most of the past several months.

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       Prolonged bouts of extreme heat are a hallmark of human-caused climate change, as are these unseasonably high temperatures.

       Records set on Labor Day

       Following a slew of record highs over the Plains and Midwest on Saturday which expanded into the Mid-Atlantic Sunday, here are some of the calendar day records that were set on Labor Day:

       In the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

       Richmond: 98, beating 95 in 1970 Washington: 98, beating 96 in 2019 Baltimore: 99, beating 96 in 2019 Philadelphia: 96, beating 93 in 2018 Harrisburg, Pa.: 97, beating 93 in 2015 Caribou, Maine: 86, beating 85 in 1999

       In the central states

       Lubbock, Tex.: 102, beating 101 in 2000 Dodge City, Kan.: 105, beating 103 in 2000 Huron, S.D.: 102, beating 100 in 2001 Minneapolis: 98, tying 98 in 1925 Green Bay: 91, beating 90 in 1990

       In addition to calendar day records, some locations also saw their highest temperatures ever observed in September.

       On Monday, monthly records were set in Minnesota, with highs of 102 at Benson and Madison and 101 in Marshall, according to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera. Borger, Tex., and Lancaster, Pa., also reached monthly high marks.

       The forecast for Tuesday

       While cooler air will start to infiltrate the northern Plains on Tuesday, the heat will hang on for one more day in the Upper Midwest from eastern Minnesota across the Great Lakes, while extending to the East Coast. Temperatures in these regions — well into the 90s in many locations — will be up to 15 to 20 degrees above normal.

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       The Weather Service is forecasting more than two dozen record highs Tuesday, including a few in Texas, several in the Upper Midwest but, by far, the greatest concentration near that Interstate 95 corridor from North Carolina to Connecticut — with widespread mid- to upper 90s predicted.

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       The Washington region in focus

       The Washington region — which is at the heart of this heat wave — has seen two straight days of record heat and is forecast to endure two more.

       Labor Day marked the second in a row with highs in the upper 90s across the D.C. metro area. The 98 recorded in the District was a record for the date, topping 96 in 2019.

       The ongoing heat wave is the summer’s most intense in the nation’s capital. The 98 on Monday marked its hottest day of the year. It’s unusual for the District to post its hottest day in September; the last time it occurred was in 1970.

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       Elsewhere in the Washington region, Dulles International Airport hit 99 degrees both Sunday and Monday, setting not only calendar day records but also matching monthly record highs.

       Record highs are forecast throughout the Washington region both Tuesday and Wednesday.

       Wednesday “certainly looks to be the hottest day overall,” the Weather Service office in Sterling, Va., wrote early Tuesday, when highs could reach 100. If the District hits 100, it will be the first instance since August 2016 and the first time in September since 1980.

       Overnight lows are also forecast to hover in record-warm territory for the next couple of days.

       Relief will slowly arrive starting Thursday when highs are forecast to reach the mid-90s before falling closer to 90 Friday and into the 80s over the weekend.

       Heat sinks south toward Texas over time

       Once the heat eases in the Mid-Atlantic states, starting Thursday, the core of the most anomalously high temperatures will contract toward the south.

       The most extreme heat will become focused over Texas where dozens of record highs are forecast Thursday through the weekend.

       Parts of Florida and the Southwest could also see some record highs Thursday through Sunday, much as they have so often since June.

       Potentially record-setting heat may continue hugging the southern tier early next week, too.

       Jason Samenow contributed to this report.

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