The hottest town in America: Kansas' sweltering Hill City where residents suffer 115 degree heat for A WEEK (and now the scorching weather is headed east)

By Daily Mail Reporter and Reuters Reporter

Published: 09:12 EDT, 29 June 2012 | Updated: 10:54 EDT, 29 June 2012

The western Kansas town of Hill City has been the hottest place in the country for the last five days - as today's temperature in the farming community is set to hit 110 degrees.

Setting new records for blistering heat Hill City's temperatures reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday and Wednesday and peaked at 108 on Thursday afternoon.

And residents are not about to get any respite from the intense heat wave with forecasts showing mercury soaring to 100 or over for the next 10 days.

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Ferocious heat: Setting new records for blistering heat Hill City's temperatures reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday and Wednesday and peaked at 108 on Thursday afternoon

Scorching: Residents in the farming community of Hill City are set to suffer from temperatures over 100 degrees for the next ten days. The digital thermometer on the Frontier Stage in Hill City shows a temperature of 111 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday afternoon

Temperatures soared across the Midwest yesterday, reaching a blistering 108 degrees in St. Louis, and possibly causing two deaths in Kansas City, Missouri, as a massive heat wave pressed eastward from the Rockies.

In Kansas City, where the temperature rose to 105 degrees, the city health department said two deaths were being investigated to determine if they were heat-related.

A city in the Midwest having the nation's high temperature for five days in a row is very unusual, said Chris Foltz, a weather service meteorologist in Goodland, Kansas.

'It's what you expect in the desert of Nevada or California,' Foltz said.

'It feels like you have a big old furnace blowing in your face,' said Rayson Brachtenbach, a technician at Elliott Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electric in Hill City.

Brachtenbach said the hot weather kept the company busy repairing air conditioning systems.

Oppressive heat: Temperatures in central and east U.S. are forecast to soar well into triple figures on Friday

Blistering: Hill City, Kansas has been the hottest place in the country for the last five days - as today's temperature in the farming community is set to hit 110 degrees. Two deaths in Kansas City are being investigated to see if they are heat related

A massive high-pressure system over the Midwest caused triple-digit temperatures in Chicago and several other cities. The oppressive heat is expected to linger for several days.

While Hill City is setting records for scorching heat, swaths of central and eastern U.S. will also experience an intense heat wave over the next week leading to health fears. 

Officials are urging residents to take extreme caution, keep hydrated, look out for signs of heat exhaustion and avoid being outside where possible.

Today's temperatures are expected to soar to around the triple figure mark in areas from Kansas to Washington.

Residents in Indianapolis will see mercury shoot up to 101 degrees, while St Louis is forecast to have 108 degree heat.

Firefighters in Memphis, Tennessee plan to check on how residents are coping with Friday’s 104 degree heat.

Temperatures are set to be around the 100 degree mark in Philadelphia and Washington today, while New Yorkers will see the temperatures hit the high 90s.

Drought conditions have contributed to the early and sustained heat  in the Midwest this summer, said Alex Sosnowski, expert senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com.

'A lot of these places haven't had a lot of rain, and dry soil contributes to heat,' Sosnowski said, when asked why the high temperatures are being seen so early in the summer.

'The sun's energy doesn't go into evaporating moisture, so it heats the ground and that heats the air. It takes a really big rainfall event to bust a drought like this.'

Friday's highs: The heat wave hitting central and east U.S. is expected to continue into next week as well

Thursday's triple figures: Officials are urging residents to take extreme caution in the heat as mercury soars above 100 degrees, stay indoors where possible and keep hydrated

Though scattered thunderstorms are expected to dial down the heat in the Midwest on Friday, Sosnowski does not see anything that would make much of an impact in dry areas.

The weather conditions have contributed to Colorado wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes. The heat and drought conditions also are damaging crops. U.S. corn prices have soared 17 percent this month as the hot dry weather persists in the main growing area of the Midwest.

In Chicago yesterday, the high temperature reached 100 degrees for the first time in seven years. Summer school was closed Thursday for 10 Chicago public schools without air conditioning.

In Indiana, burn bans are in effect in 74 of 92 counties, and 45 counties have restrictions on shooting off fireworks.

With temperatures soaring, officials from Kansas to the Carolinas asked residents to take steps to stay cool and check on friends and neighbors. In Birmingham, Alabama, police were checking on the sick and elderly.

'We want to ensure our citizens remain safe during the excessive heat outbreak,' Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper said.

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