After a few days of bearable temperatures, the sweltering heat and humidity that debilitated tri-state residents and crippled power lines last week returns.
The National Weather Service forecasts steamy temps that will feel like 95 degrees and higher for the next two days and issued a heat advisory in effect until tomorrow evening as a caution to area residents. Air quality advisories are also in effect, and city cooling centers will be open to help New Yorkers combat the heat.
High temperatures in the mid 90s today will combine with humidity to make it feel closer to 100 degrees. Fortunately, the humidity will decrease a bit overnight but even with that, temperatures and heat index values on Saturday will still reach the mid 90s -- and they may even go back up on Sunday.
City officials caution residents to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms, keep out of the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors.
Last week, with triple-digit highs recorded from New York to Charlotte, N.C., roads buckled, nursing homes with air-conditioning problems were forced to evacuate and utilities called for conservation as the electrical grid neared its capacity and the mercury hit a record 103 degrees in Central Park.
A 100-degree reading at noon in Trenton, N.J., broke a 17-year-old record. Philadelphia hit 100 for the second straight day, breaking a record of 98 degrees set in 1999. Newark, N.J., hit triple digits for the fourth straight day, something that hasn't happened since 1993.
Visit http://www.nyc.gov/oem or call 311 for cooling center locations and further details on heat and air advisories.
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