New Yorkers and residents across the tristate area battled high temperatures and uncomfortable humidity for the third straight day Sunday, capping off a weekend heat wave that left many people sweating and searching for relief.
Temperatures reached the low 90s on Sunday with heat indexes rising into the mid-90s due to the humidity, according to the National Weather Service.
Though it remained humid on Sunday, with relative humidity between 40% and 60% during the day, it was a far cry from Saturday’s numbers, which reached 90% humidity and barely dropped below 60% throughout the day.
The city opened 44 public schools as cooling centers on Sunday, with residents invited to enjoy the air conditioning from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The schools were open in addition to the city’s many permanent cooling centers, such as libraries and community centers.
As temperatures reached 90 degrees in Central Park on Sunday, New York recorded its second official heat wave of the year, with three straight days of 90-degree temperatures.
New Yorkers already sweltered through one heat wave this summer, as temperatures soared above 90 degrees each day from June 20 to 23 and again on June 25 and 26.
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Forecasters expected Monday to be even hotter than Sunday, with heat indexes possibly reaching 95 across the region, according to the National Weather Service. Humidity was expected to remain in the 50% to 60% range, with temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s.
And Tuesday wasn’t expected to bring much relief either, with temperatures in the 80s and humidity once again possibly reaching 90% with rain possible in the late afternoon and into the night.
After a brief rain shower on Saturday, there was only a small chance of precipitation on Sunday or Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Even as temperatures remained uncomfortable on Sunday, they stood little chance of reaching the record high for July 7, which reached 100 degrees in 2010.
City officials encouraged people throughout the five boroughs and nearby communities to check on people who could be vulnerable to the heat. Last year, 350 New York residents died prematurely from preventable heat-related conditions, according to city statistics.
New Yorkers were hardly the only Americans suffering under intense heat throughout the weekend. Temperatures soared over 110 degrees in Phoenix and Las Vegas, though with considerably lower humidity.
An excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service covered 36 million people across the country on Sunday, about 10% of the entire U.S. population. Parts of Northern California also topped 100 degrees and the city of Redding set a new record with a temperature of 119 degrees.
But the heat wasn’t unique to Northern California. In Palm Springs, it reached 124 degrees on Friday, a new record for a generally scorching hot area. Temperatures in Death Valley were forecast to reach 129 to 130 degrees, approaching the all-time recorded high on Earth of 134 degrees, set in July 1913 in the national park.
“Intense, widespread and long-duration heat wave across the West is extremely dangerous and deadly if not taken seriously,” the NWS warned in an online update. “The multi-day length and record warm overnight temperatures will continue to cause heat stress to build in people without adequate cooling access.”