It's not officially summer yet but it felt like a mid-summer scorcher in the Midwest Tuesday, with 94 degrees in Chicago and not nearly enough rain -- and it's all headed East. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
By The Associated Press and The Weather Channel
Temperatures across the Northeast were expected to approach triple digits Wednesday, just as summer officially begins.
The National Weather Service has forecast potentially record-breaking hot temperatures, with readings expected to be in the mid- to high-90s Wednesday and Thursday in cities including Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Humidity could make it feel even hotter.
Locations from Philadelphia to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. could top out in the upper 90s to near 100 degrees, while interior cities such as Pittsburgh, Pa., Albany, N.Y. and Burlington, Vt. will also surge into the 90s, The Weather Channel reported.
Sweltering heat will also persist farther to the west in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, including Chicago, Ill., Detroit, Mich., Cleveland, Ohio and Louisville, Ky.
Check on elderly neighbors
Health officials warned residents to drink water, stay out of the sun and in air conditioning, and to check on elderly neighbors and pets, according to The Associated Press. For those without air conditioning, "cooling centers" have been set up in public buildings in dozens of cities.
New York City's 1.1 million public school students are still in session for another week, and just 64 percent of classrooms are air-conditioned.
Mark Lennihan / AP
Bernard Gaines, right, describes how wide his window is as he shops for an air conditioner with the help of salesman Leon Blackwood at P.C. Richard & Son, an electronics and appliance store, Tuesday, in Brooklyn, New York.
Students were being advised to wear light clothing and drink plenty of water, and schools have been told to limit outdoor playtime, city Education Department spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said.
In Brooklyn, street vendor James Martin said his family's sixth-floor apartment in Coney Island has no air conditioning and can get really hot. But "we open the front door and all the windows, and we get a nice breeze," he said.
The cities of Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., opened several spray parks on Tuesday to help residents cool off as hot, muggy weather settled in. Buffalo, which will only be in the mid- to high-80s on Wednesday and Thursday, doesn't normally open its 11 splash pads until July 1.
PhotoBlog: Record high temperatures to greet summer solstice
The wilting heat also will hit Boston-area residents hard. Temperatures of up to 97 degrees are forecast for Wednesday, followed by 99 on Thursday, the weather service said. Current record highs for these dates are 98 and 95 degrees, respectively.
Philadelphians may see the mercury soar to 95 and 99 degrees mid-week after enjoying relatively mild June temperatures. Normally, the high for Philadelphia at this time of year is about 84 degrees — closer to Wednesday's predicted low of 80 degrees. The city's highs in the next couple of days will approach, if not break, decades-old records of 98 degrees, set in 1931, and 99, set in 1923.
The city began a staggered schedule of opening its swimming pools on Monday, a couple of days after schools let out for the year. Nearly two dozen of the city's 70 pools will be open by Wednesday, with another seven opening Thursday.
"We're very lucky that the pools opened yesterday," James Garrow, a spokesman for the Philadelphia health department, said Tuesday.
Cooling centers
He added that the city will activate its heat hotline at noon Wednesday and will work with personal care homes, senior centers, libraries and recreation centers to make sure air conditioners are running.
Officials will be setting up 114 cooling centers at facilities across the city, said Garrow.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the state's largest transit agency, is keeping a close eye on the heat as well, spokeswoman Jerri Williams said.
SEPTA, which operates trains, trolleys and buses in Philadelphia and its suburbs, planned to have extra maintenance workers to help deal with heat-related switch failures, problems with track expansion and any overhead wire issues on suburban train lines.
In Rhode Island, all regular public buses and trolleys will be free on Wednesday due to anticipated air quality issues.
Moderate relief from the high mercury should come this weekend, The Associated Press reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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