Dangerous heat: Hottest day in New York City since 2012
An AccuWeather Alert is in place as extreme and dangerous heat takes hold of the Tri-State
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Dangerously hot temperatures gripped New York City and the Tri-State area again on Tuesday making it feel like a furnace outside and shattering records in the process.
The official temperature in New York City reached 99 degrees in Central Park just before 4:00 p.m., breaking the record set in 1888 and the hottest day since July 18, 2012.
The temperature at JFK Airport reached 102 - not only sets a new daily record for this date, but it is also the hottest June temperature on record at JFK airport.
Newark, New Jersey hit a record high of 103 degrees, breaking the old mark of 97 set in 1966 and tying its hottest June temperature on record. The city also hit 103 in June 2021.
The high temperature in Islip, New York on Tuesday was 101, breaking the daily record for the day and setting a new June monthly record. Records for the Islip area go back to 1963. The previous hottest June temperature on record for Islip was 96 degrees set in 1966 and 1994.
RELATED | Get the latest AccuWeather forecast here
One more day of 90 degree weather will officially make it a heat wave before relief on Thursday as temperatures tumble by 20 to 25 degrees.
The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for the Tri-State area for Wednesday. A Heat Advisory is issued when the combination of heat and humidity is expected to make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any length of time.
Seniors and those with chronic health problems or mental health conditions are at an increased risk. Homes without air conditioning can be much hotter than outdoor temperatures.
Gov. Hochul asking New Yorkers to conserve energy until 10 p.m.
Governor Kathy Hochul is urging New Yorkers to conserve energy until 10 p.m. on Tuesday, with the electrical grid approaching peak capacity.
"Since the beginning of this week's extreme heat, we've been carefully monitoring our electrical grid to protect New Yorkers," she said in a statement. "Earlier this evening the New York Independent System Operator warned that we are approaching peak capacity in the downstate region and it is critical to conserve electricity between now and 10:00 PM."
Among the measures she says New Yorkers should take, include setting window air conditioning units to 76 degrees and avoiding unnecessary appliance use.
"At the same time, it's critical to stay safe in this dangerous heat: find a cooling center near you, especially if you're a senior citizen or have health concerns. Working together, we can easily get through this critical period," she said.
Con Edison asks residents in parts of NYC to conserve energy
On Tuesday afternoon, Con Edison asked customers in certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens to conserve energy while company crews repair equipment. Con Edison has also reduced voltage by 8 percent in the areas as a precaution to protect equipment and maintain service as repairs are completed.
The area is bounded by the Jackie Robinson Parkway on the north, Jamaica Bay on the south, the Van Wyck Expressway and Queens Boulevard on the east, and the Brooklyn-Queens line and Alabama and Louisiana avenues on the west.
The area includes 150,200 customers in the Queens neighborhoods of: Broad Channel, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Lindenwood, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven and Kew Gardens; and the Brooklyn neighborhoods of East New York, Cypress Hills, Highland Park and City Line.
Another repair impacted southwest Brooklyn and 105,800 customers in parts, or all, of the following neighborhoods: Bay Ridge, Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, Dyker Heights, Park Slope and Sunset Park.
Con Edison has asked customers in these areas not to use energy-intensive appliances such as washers, dryers, and microwaves until crews complete repairs. The company also asks customers to limit unnecessary use of air conditioning. If you have two air conditioners, use only one and set it to the highest comfortable temperature.
The company also asks that customers refrain from charging electric vehicles until repairs are made.
The voltage reduction also affects areas bounded by Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery on the north, Belt Parkway and Long Island Railroad on the south, 20th Avenue and Marlborough Road on the east, and Fort Hamilton Parkway on the west.
Con Edison has asked customers in these areas not to use energy-intensive appliances such as washers, dryers, and microwaves until crews complete repairs. The company also asks customers to limit unnecessary use of air conditioning. If you have two air conditioners, use only one and set it to the highest comfortable temperature.
The company also requests that customers refrain from charging electric vehicles until repairs are made.
Customers can report outages and check service restoration status at www.conEd.com/reportoutage, or with the ConEd mobile app for iOS or Android devices, or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). When calling, customers should report whether their neighbors also have lost power.
Hot day for voters in New York City
The heat hit New York City as residents headed to the polls for the city's primary election. In Queens, Rekha Malhotra was handing out flyers in support of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani while wearing a pink electric fan around their neck.
"It's 90 bazillian degrees and here I am," said Malhotra. "I could have been phone banking."
"I have all the things - hat, ice and this," Malhotra added, clutching a commercial-grade spray bottle.
At PS 175 elementary school in Forest Hills, Queens, voters of all ages cast their ballots with no air conditioning
"The building is pretty warm. There are some fans in there. That does help," voter Iris Raiken said.
We used a temperature app that measured 100 degrees inside the gym with a real feel of 106.
"It is a sauna combined with a hot tub. It's awful. It's awful," Pamela D'Elia said.
Medical expert speaks on challenges for outdoor workers
Brick laying in extreme heat and humidity is taxing work on any day, but asphaulting a driveway in Searingtown was out of the question on Tuesday.
Doctors on Long Island said they had a spike in ER visits starting Monday.
Most of those visits included more vulnerable people, like the elderly, but those who needed to be admitted tended to be the younger workers who were needed outdoors.
"They're at risk too, and we don't think of them as vulnerable because being not at extremes of ages, but because of the nature of their jobs and activities, that makes them high risk," said Dr. Payal Sud with North Shore University Hospital.
That applies to those working jobs like brick laying, landscaping and even maintaining the power grid.
"We don't want our customers to be without power in extreme heat so we work our employees around the clock," said Larry Torres with PSE&G. Emergency Preparedness.
Those who must work outside are encouraged to take frequent breaks, stay out of the sun, and drink plenty of water.
RELATED | New York City, Tri-State area resources for extreme heat: What to know
NJ highway buckles in the extreme heat
I-287 southbound has lane closures in two locations due to emergency roadway repairs in Riverdale and Montville, Morris County. In both locations, the expansion of bridge joints caused the concrete roadway to buckle.
Crews will continue to make repairs to the damaged roadway. It is unclear how long repairs may take at this time. Motorists are advised to use caution, slow down, move over, and expect delays.
Amtrak heat restrictions in the Northeast Corridor
Amtrak has issued temperature-related speed restrictions on trains in the Northeast Corridor between 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
The company warned that customers may experience delays.
Amtrak issues heat restrictions when temperatures are higher than 95 degrees and when the tracks reach 128 degrees.
Con Ed customers across NYC asked to conserve energy
Con Edison urged all of New York City to conserve energy during heat wave.
That means try not to do laundry or use a microwave. And if you have more than one air conditioning unit, only use one and set it at the highest comfortable temperature.
The company is also asking customers to refrain from charging their electric vehicles unless necessary.
Con Edison crews, working around the clock in sweltering temperatures, have restored service after about 66,000 of its 3.7 million customers lost power Monday across the five boroughs and Westchester.
"We are experiencing extremely hot weather across the entire region, that's why the hottest weather we've seen in about 10 years," said ConEd President Matt Keschke. "So that increases the overall demands on the electric system, gets hot, people turn on the air conditioning. So we have increased stress on the electric delivery system."
The utility reduced voltage by 8% in some areas to make necessary repairs while easing pressure on the power grid and prevent a blackout.
Heat impacts graduation ceremonies in New Jersey
The extreme heat took its toll at outdoor graduation ceremonies in Paterson.
During a morning ceremony at Hinchcliffe stadium, 59 people were treated for heat-related issues and nine were taken to the hospital.
Then, so many more people had issues at the afternoon graduation that it was canceled. That included 107 people treated for issues with seven taken to the hospital.
Families are upset the district didn't better prepare for the heat that everyone knew was coming.
Some schools, like in Newark, had early dismissals Tuesday and will have early dismissals again on Tuesday.
MTA prepares for dangerous heat
The MTA is trying to get ahead of any heat-related problems underground.
Air conditioning is mandatory in each of the city's 5,500 subway cars and crews deployed temperature sensors on Monday morning to make sure the cool air was coming through.
As of Monday afternoon, the agency said there were no reports of "hot cars" and no trains were out of service.
Peak heat expected as voters head to the polls
The peak of the heat wave is expected to hit the area as voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the primary election.
The advice from city leaders is to try to vote outside peak heat times -- so before 11 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
The head of the Office of Emergency Management discussed how the city is working with the Board of Elections and utility crews to keep voters safe.
"We've delivered over 4,000 cases of water to the Board of Elections, we've moved over 400 industrial-sized fans into a number of the spaces, we have contingencies in place with generators pre-placed around the city in case we have outages that we can address at these polling locations, and we are working very closely with our utility partners who have additional crews out and ready to respond should we have outages," Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said.
Cooling centers around the Tri-State are open
- New York City cooling centers opened on Sunday. Cooling centers are air-conditioned facilities such as libraries, community centers, or senior centers, that are open to the public during heat emergencies. To find your nearest cooling center, call 311 or visit https://maps.nyc.gov/cooling-center/
- Newark's Department of Health's Office of Homeless Services will collaborate with its partners and community-based organizations to help provide overnight shelter for residents with no address. Shelters are activated to remain open during non-traditional hours and to expand their bed capacity. Street outreach workers conduct outreach 24 hours a day, seven days a week, encouraging residents without addresses to enter emergency shelters or visit drop-in or cooling centers.
- Nassau County cooling centers are open starting Friday at Cantiague Park and Wantagh Park between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. A cooling center at Mitchel Field will be open 24/7.
- Connecticut cooling centers will be available throughout the state. Anyone in need of a place to get out of the heat can locate their nearest cooling center by calling 2-1-1 or viewing the list that will be published online at www.211ct.org.
- In Westchester County, pools and beaches are now open from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. through Labor Day.
Signs of heat exhaustion and stroke
Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Heat stroke occurs when the body's temperature rises quickly, which can lead to death. You should call 911 or go to an emergency room if you or someone you know has the following symptoms:
- Hot, dry skin
- Confusion, hallucinations, and disorientation
- Loss of consciousness or being unresponsive
- Nausea or vomiting
- Trouble breathing
- Fast, strong pulse
- Weakness
- Dizziness
People can also experience heat exhaustion, heat cramps or heat rash. You can learn more about symptoms to look out for on the New York Department of Health Website.
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