Wildfires, storms and record-breaking heat: Extreme weather advisories cover big swath of U.S.

U.S. newsWildfires, storms and record-breaking heat: Extreme weather advisories cover big swath of U.S.Wildfires prompted evacuation orders in Southern California, flood watches were in effect for 7 million people in the Midwest and 32 million in the Northeast were under heat advisories.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:0001:17Severe spring weather reaches all corners of the U.S.00:0000:00Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 19, 2026, 2:16 PM EDTBy Nicole AcevedoWildfires in California, thunderstorms and threats of flash flooding in the Midwest and extreme heat in the Northeast: A wide range of severe weather events are raging across the nation on Tuesday, putting millions of Americans under weather advisories. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Near Southern California, evacuation orders and warnings remained in effect Tuesday as wildfires raged near Burro Peak and across the Simi Valley region.The Sandy Fire in Simi Valley, located about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles, raged across nearly 1,400 acres since it began Monday morning. Only 5% of the fire had been contained as of 8:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. People living in more than 10,000 homes in that region were ordered to evacuate Monday. Firefighters are working toward full containment and public safety personnel are coordinating efforts to repopulate evacuated areas throughout the day as the fires are contained, according to the Ventura County Fire Department, the main agency responding to the fire.Air quality alerts remained in place for the Los Angeles region on Tuesday due to the smoke from the Sandy Fire.In the Midwest, parts of Missouri and Illinois experienced widespread showers and thunderstorms Tuesday morning, with some of that rainfall leading to flash flooding in some areas.Flood watches are in effect for an estimated 7 million pe...