According to the National Weather Service office for Roanoke/Blacksburg, the forecast for July 1 — today as this is written — calls for a high temperature of 96 degrees.

A heat wave that turned the midwest into a hot hell is spreading and the Weather Service says 160 million residents, including us, are under intensive high temperature warnings.

Nazaneen Ghaffar, Erin McCann and Amy Graff , weather team for The New York Times, report:

A significant heat wave that has broiled much of the Midwest this week is spreading farther east on Wednesday, bringing the potential for record-breaking high temperatures to millions more people. Little relief is expected for much of the country until the weekend.

More than 160 million people are under extreme heat warnings or heat advisories, and for many it was the second or third straight day of severe warnings to avoid being outside in the warmest parts of the day.

Triple-digit temperatures are being made worse by high levels of humidity, leading to oppressive heat index readings. Many emergency officials and meteorologists say the heat index is a more accurate measure of what if feels like outside than temperature alone.

And on Tuesday, the heat index was brutal: 106 in Chicago on Tuesday; 113 just north of Milwaukee; 103 in Cleveland; 113 in Southern Illinois. On Wednesday, the Weather Service said, cities from Kansas City to Boston will likely record heat index values between 100 and 115 degrees.

Radley Horton, a professor at Columbia University’s Climate School, said this particular heat wave has been characterized by especially high humidity.

“And when the amount of moisture in the air is particularly high, it tends to make nights that much warmer,” Dr. Horton said. “Temperatures don’t change as much between daytime and nighttime.”

Temperatures in Floyd County are expected to be in the high 90s through Sunday, with lower elevations in Roanoke and other lower elevations topping 100.

That’s hot. Too hot.