© Billy Hefton / Enid News & Eagle via AP
A city employee in Enid, Okla., talks on the phone as he describes the road buckling along U.S. 412 on Saturday. Both west bound lanes were shut down.
The Upper Midwest was feeling some unaccustomed heat on Monday, but folks in Oklahoma were having it even worse: roads buckled, damaging cars, while poultry farmers were taking precautions like fans and watered rooftops to protect flocks.
In Oklahoma City, where a 28th day of triple-digit heat is expected, two lanes of a major interstate in downtown were closed Monday morning after buckling on a bridge caused steel expansion joints to rise, damaging cars as they passed over.
The city, which is forecast to reach 103 degrees on Monday, is on pace to break its record for days at 100 or above - 50 set in 1980 - with triple-digit heat possible through September.
In Tulsa, a hole opened in the pavement of a highway bridge and a section of U.S. 75 in a nearby town buckled.
It's even worse in western Oklahoma, where temperatures at 110 or above have been common in recent weeks. In Enid, asphalt at a major intersection along U.S. Highway 412 buckled Saturday night from the intense heat.
