Cooling centers, swimming pools and launching pads are open across the Northeast as the first major heat wave of the summer sends temperatures soaring into the mid-to-upper 90s and looks set for brutal, record-breaking and potentially dangerous conditions around the weekend.
The high temperatures are the result of a massive ridge of high pressure that has settled over the eastern US, and while temperatures in major cities such as Chicago, Washington, New York and Boston will reach the 90s, humidity will it makes you feel even hotter with temperatures that exceed 100 degrees.
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Many communities haven't seen such heat in years, and officials are opening cooling centers and community pools to help residents cool down and stay safe to avoid heat-related health issues like heat stroke and heat exhaustion — which could be fatal. Over 200 cities could set new record high temperatures.
Boston University, for example, cooling stations were opened for students which will be open from 7am to midnight daily through Friday.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has declared a heat emergency which will remain in place until at least Thursday, and many facilities have opened to allow residents to cool off.
However, some other cooling centers remained closed on Wednesday for the month of June.
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Cooling centers have also opened in Connecticut, and Gov. Ned Lamont said he activated the state's extreme hot weather protocol.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams also announced that cooling centers will open across the Big Apple, and swimming pools in Philadelphia opened for residents to beat the heat.
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95 million are included in heat warnings from the Ohio Valley to New England
Heat warnings extend across the eastern half of the US from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley to the Northeast and New England.
The majority of the population is under a heat advisory and includes cities such as Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati in Ohio, Buffalo and Binghamton in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Providence in Rhode Island and Boston.
Heat Advisories also expands into northern New England, including all of Vermont, western New Hampshire and parts of Maine.
Heat warnings have been issued for Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne, Indiana, but they have also been issued for places that have never seen one.
The National Weather Service office in Caribou, Maine, issued the first extreme heat warning due to what felt like temperatures approaching 110 degrees. Other areas in New England under the Extreme Heat Warning are Nashua, Manchester and Concord in New Hampshire and Augusta, Bangor, Rumford and Lewiston in Maine. So far, Portland has not been placed under an extreme heat warning,
Extreme heat watches have been issued for the Philadelphia area and most of central and northern New Jersey.
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Washington, DC could hit 100 degrees this weekend
The heat continues to rise as the work week continues, with cities along the Interstate 95 corridor along the East Coast again entering the 90s. Some cities, such as Washington, D.C., could reach 100 degrees on Sunday.
But New England will cool down a bit by the time we get into Friday. Boston is forecasting a high of 95 degrees on Thursday and “only” 83 degrees on Friday. Saturday will see even cooler temperatures, with many New England locations remaining in the mid-70s.
However, residents in Caribou will really feel the difference.
The city reached 96 degrees on Wednesday, and temperatures will drop throughout the rest of the week, dropping to 65 degrees on Sunday.
The heat wave is expected to break records
Each red marker on the map above indicates a location that could see record heat on Thursday and includes cities like Bangor and Concord in New England and Binghamton and Scranton in Pennsylvania.
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Heat to reach life-threatening levels
In many of the areas where daily records could be broken or there are many sidewalks, the National Weather Service's HeatRisk map has marked communities at a level 3 or 4 out of 4 for impacts.
The Heat Risk threat level takes into account the unusual nature of the heat, the duration of the temperature extremes and the potential health effects.
At a code red stage (Level 3), heat affects anyone who is not adequately hydrated or those who do not have access to cooling.
Magenta (Level 4) means excessive heat that is either infrequent or long in duration. Health systems may be affected by an influx of patients with heat-related illnesses.
During Thursday's heat wave, many residents in Ohio, northern Indiana, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will be in Level 4 of 4.