Record temperatures possible as heat creeps over U.S. Northeast
Record temperatures possible as heat creeps over U.S. Northeast
NEW YORK — Temperatures climbed toward the high 30s along America’s Eastern Coast on Wednesday as a hot spell heralded the official start of summer, with people wilting at graduation ceremonies, students trying to learn in suffocating classrooms and authorities warning folks to check on elderly neighbours.
The hot spell arrived right on time — on the summer solstice and longest day of the year — in a region that’s home to some of America’s most densely populated cities. Temperatures hit the high 30s along the eastern seaboard, including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Health officials warned residents to drink water, stay out of the sun and in air conditioning, and to check on elderly neighbours and pets. Public cooling centres have been set up in dozens of cities for those without air conditioning.
Several relatives of high school graduates were treated for heat exhaustion at an outdoor ceremony in North Bergen, New Jersey, and taken to a hospital, police told The Record of Bergen County. Ambulances were on standby at the event, which was held outside to accommodate about 5,000 people, said Capt. Gerald Sanzari of the North Bergen Police Department.
In a rare bending of the rules, the Metro in Washington, D.C., said passengers on Wednesday and Thursday would be allowed to drink water, an exception to their no-drinks policy. The National Weather Service said the temperature at Washington National Airport was 35 C just before 2p.m.
Every state in the continental lower 48 except for North Dakota was forecast to have 32-plus weather until Saturday, according to a model by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency in charge of weather, climate and oceans.
Forecasts for upstate New York on Wednesday and Thursday called for temperatures to hit the 30s from Niagara Falls to the Vermont border, with highs topping out in the mid-30s in some places. Elementary and middle schools in the Hudson Valley planned to dismiss students early because of the heat.
Record temperatures possible as heat creeps over U.S. Northeast
Record temperatures possible as heat creeps over U.S. Northeastin
