BLOOMBERG (NEW YORK) -- New York City and the US Northeast will shift to searing heat after weeks of rain and clouds as record-breaking temperatures descend on the region.
More than 200 daily and overnight records are poised to be broken from Sunday to Tuesday across a wide swath of the country from Chicago to New York, according to the US Weather Prediction Center. The scorching conditions are forecast to last through next week.
“It is going to feel so much hotter because of how cloudy and cool it has been across the Northeast,” said Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster at the center. “The rain is coming to an end.”
LaGuardia Airport on Monday is poised to hit 96F (36C), an all-time high for the date, according to the center. It will feel even hotter with the humidity. In addition to posing health risks, the blistering weather will boost electricity demand and strain aging transportation infrastructure, including subways and commuter rail. Overnight temperatures are forecast to remain elevated, bringing little relief.
A dramatic pattern shift will occur as a ridge of high pressure builds across the Great Plains Thursday and Friday — the official first day of summer – and moves into the Ohio Valley into the Northeast by this weekend. Heat will also envelop the Great Lakes into Toronto, where readings are forecast to reach 32C by Monday, Environment and Climate Change Canada said.
By Sunday, there is a major risk of health impacts from heat from Nebraska to parts of southern Maine, with the worst conditions occurring in Iowa and the Great Lakes region, the Weather Prediction Center said. By Tuesday, cities including Washington, Philadelphia and New York will feel the extremes.
“It is a pretty impressive heat wave,” Oravec said. “This one could be for over a week.”
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