Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois hit by heat, storms

Cape Girardeau set a record high temperature for July 1 and the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky on Sunday.

The temperature in the city climbed to 103 at about 3 p.m., surpassing the unofficial record of 99, reached in 1980 and 1991.

Cape Girardeau reached the record high before a thunderstorm passed over the city, dropping 1 3/4-inch hail. Little damage was reported, the NWS said. The temperature in the city fell about 10 degrees when the storm went through, meteorologists said.

NWS meteorologist Deanna Lindstrom said only .05 of an inch of rain fell at the Cape Girardeau Airport by 6 p.m.

She said there was 1 1/2-inch hail just west of Jackson.

"These are those types of storms where you could be 2 miles away and get 2 inches of rain, while the official recording is less that 1/10 of an inch," Lindstrom said.

A thunderstorm in Perry County caused some hail damage and knocked down trees near the Perry County Community Lake, about 2 miles west of Perryville, Mo., officials said.

Perryville Fire Chief Jeremy Triller said some power lines were knocked down in northern parts of the county.

"It was not too bad," Triller said. "The rain was definitely nice."

The excessive heat warning will stay in effect until 6 p.m. today.

The excessive heat warning means dangerous levels of heat will occur. High temperatures above 100 will occur. Some locations may exceed 105, NWS meteorologists said.

Heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke are possible. Dehydration can occur quickly. The effects of the heat will be cumulative, given that the heat will persist over several days, the NWS said.