Hot Week Across the Midwest

A burst of late summer heat swept across the country as at least 61 million Americans were under some form of a heat advisory this week. 

State Fair goers in Minnesota were looking for cool spots to see animals and grab food but the misting stations were some of the most popular attractions. 

Residents in Chicago were handing out free water to help others stay hydrated in the triple digit temperatures and more than 4,000 bottles of water were handed out in this neighborhood alone. Walking and riding were hard activities to participate in due to the hot conditions. 

Animals at the Lincoln Park Zoo were given ice treats.

Dave Bernier, Lincoln Park Zoo: "People think animals are like adapted to weather extremes like heat, because they come from more tropical areas. But they're really Chicagoans just like us, and they experience the same weather we do."

But then the pattern changed and severe weather slashed across the upper Midwest. 

High winds knocked over more than four dozen empty train cars that had been on the tracks near the central North Dakota town of Steele. The system spawned at least five tornadoes across the Dakotas late Wednesday. 

Much of the same area was in the path of severe weather again on Thursday. Power poles were snapped in southeast Michigan by winds of at least 70 miles per hour. 

Nearly 300,000 customers were without power following the severe storms. 

Brian Kalka, DTE Energy Vice President of distribution operations: "The damage is significant. This is not necessarily lifting a limb off of a line and restoring power. You've got broken poles. You have broken infrastructure. Replacing that infrastructure can take a little bit of time, and that will be a challenge as well. But we are fully committed to the work at hand, and everyone is really laser focused on doing what they can to restore power as quickly as they possibly can."

Damage stretched more than 150 miles from eastern Michigan to the Ohio border.

For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.