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An unidentified fan wipes his head as another covers his with a sign between innings of the Minnesota Twins baseball game against the Cleveland Indians, during the first of a doubleheader Monday, July 18, 2011 in Minneapolis. As a heat wave consumed the Jim Mone, Associated Press
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James Williams carries a fan handed out by Catholic Charities to those in need of heat relief to his car Monday July 18, 2011, in Springfield, Ill. There are heat advisories and warnings in 17 states, from Texas to Michigan, and the sweltering conditions Seth Perlman, Associated Press
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Members of The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps of Allentown, Pa., practice on the football field at Smithville High School in Smithville, Mo., Monday, July 18, 2011. The Corps is practicing during an excessive heat warning in preparation for a competition in Orlin Wagner, Associated Press
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Angel Merriman, right, plays with her children Alexis, 1, center, and Dorothy, 4, in a backyard pool as she trys to beat the heat in Flint, Mich., Monday, July 18, 2011. With a heat index of well over 100 degrees in most places, a heat wave smothered t Paul Sancya, Associated Press
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Catholic Charities case worker Cliff Shehorn removes one of the few fan left from storage to be handed out to those in need of heat relief Monday July 18, 2011, in Springfield, Ill. There are heat advisories and warnings in 17 states, from Texas to Michig Seth Perlman, Associated Press
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Walter Gatewood, 87, sits on his front porch trying to beat the heat in Flint, Mich., Monday, July 18, 2011. With a heat index well over 100 in most places, a heat wave smothered the Midwest Monday. Paul Sancya, Associated Press
By Associated Press

HORIZON CITY, Texas — The high temperatures gripping much of the Midwest are nearly certain to persist through the week, and forecasters say the extreme discomfort will soon spread to the East Coast.

The misery was widespread Monday, with the worst conditions blanketing a broad band from Texas to Minnesota and Dakotas. Seventeen states issued heat watches, warnings or advisories.

The heat index easily surpassed 100 degrees in many places, including 126 in Newton, Iowa; 120 in Mitchell, S.D.; and 119 in Madison, Minn.

But few people are hit as hard as the poor.

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In Oklahoma, for example, applications from elderly and low-income residents are pouring in for help to pay utility bills. And Chicago officials have opened six cooling centers, many of them in lower-income neighborhoods, along with hundreds of air-conditioned public buildings.

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