New York, Washington Wilt Under Weekend Heat and Humidity
(Bloomberg) -- The corridor from New York City to Washington will wilt under sultry temperatures this weekend, just as utility Con Edison has reduced voltages in parts of Queens and asked residents to cut back on demand.
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New York’s Central Park may reach 96F (36C) degrees Saturday and Washington is set to hit 100F, the National Weather Service said. Both highs would threaten 1988 records.
“It should be a hot next couple of days,” said Marc Chenard, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center. “It’s definitely pretty humid, too, so there are heat advisories out for both cities.” Indeed, an unbroken string of heat advisories stretches from Indiana to western Massachusetts.
In New York, the humidity will make temperatures feel close to 100 and will add to energy demand that soars when residents turn to air conditioning for relief. Across parts of Queens, Con Edison said Friday it was reducing voltage in the area by 8% and asking about 130,000 customers to cut back on demand as its crews make repairs.
Overnight temperatures will hit 78 in Manhattan, which will offer little relief for either people or energy demand. Highs will be back to 95 on Sunday and 77 through the night, while Washington is set to reach 98 with a low of 76.
The heat has also caused delays on Amtrak and New Jersey Transit as rails, bridges and overhead wires can expand, disrupting or slowing trains. Both New York Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul warned residents to protect themselves from the heat.
Some of the worst conditions will be in Philadelphia, where the high is forecast to reach 97 and humidity will make it feel closer to 102 on Saturday, the weather service said.
A large area of high pressure has been searing the eastern US for the past week but will start to relax a bit going into next week, which should bring some relief, Chenard said. It won’t completely exit the region, though, and long-range forecasts call for July to be warmer than normal for large parts of the US.
“This will be a little hotter than it should be for late June and July,” Chenard said.
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--With assistance from Yi Wei Wong, Skylar Woodhouse and Brandon Sapienza.
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