East Coast Scorcher: Heat Wave Intensifies, Shattering Records

Millions Swelter as Heat Dome Tightens Grip

An unrelenting heat wave has brought the most brutal temperatures in a decade to the eastern United States, leaving millions of Americans struggling. Multiple cities are experiencing record-breaking heat, and the conditions are expected to persist through the week.

The extreme conditions, caused by a powerful heat dome, reached their peak Tuesday after intensifying throughout the weekend. These conditions have led to serious consequences across the region.

A woman from the St. Louis area died after spending at least three days without water or air conditioning, officials reported Tuesday. The region has been under a scorching heat that in recent days has often felt above 38 °C. The St. Ann Police Chief, Aaron Jiménez, reported the 55-year-old woman was discovered at her residence on Monday.

Impacts Mount Across the Eastern Seaboard

• Two firefighters were hospitalized for heat exhaustion while responding to a fire in a house in Norfolk, Massachusetts. A rehabilitation truck was deployed so firefighters could rest and cool down, according to WCVB.
• Sixteen people were hospitalized and over 150 evaluated for heat-related illnesses during two high school graduation ceremonies in Paterson, New Jersey, under the suffocating conditions on Monday, according to Paterson Chief of Firefighters, Alejandro Alicea.
• Six people were hospitalized for heat-related illnesses on Monday before and after a concert in Nationals Park, in Washington, D.C., according to DC Fire and EMS.
• Two hiker teenagers were rescued from GAP Mountain in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, after they began losing and recovering consciousness, likely due to intense heat and humidity, according to the New Hampshire fishing and hunting department.
• The heat has interrupted train services along the east coast this week. An Amtrak train stopped in a tunnel in Baltimore, leaving passengers trapped in the heat for more than an hour Monday afternoon.
• Key road parts in the suburbs of Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin, were closed after cracking by the scorching heat of Sunday, local authorities reported.
• Temperatures were so intense in Charlotte, North Carolina, that players competing in the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday watched their teams play from the locker room, as the German club, Bayern Munich, reported on X.

Nearly 160 million people, or approximately half of the U.S. population east of the Mississippi, are under heat alerts as of Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

A spokesperson from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that extreme heat is the leading weather-related killer in the United States, causing more deaths than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined. The CDC also reported that in a typical year, more than 700 Americans die from heat-related causes.

Cities Break Temperature Records

Boston reached 39°C, setting a new maximum temperature record for June.

The New Bedford-Fairhaven rotating bridge will remain closed for several hours due to the heat impacts. Officials have not detailed how the heat has affected the operation of the bridge.

Philadelphia also registered its first temperature of 38°C since 2012, reaching 38.3°C this Tuesday. This represents the hottest day recorded in the city so early in the summer. The city had already broken the daily maximum temperature record on Monday when it reached 37.2°C.

Records were also broken in Providence, Rhode Island, where the temperature hit 37.8°C, a new maximum temperature record for June. Newark, New Jersey, reached 39.4°C, matching the current maximum temperature record for June.

New York City was about to reach 38°C for the first time in over a decade on Tuesday; the temperature in Central Park was around 37.2°C in the middle of the afternoon. The last time New York registered a three-digit temperature was on July 18, 2012, but has not reached 38°C in June since 1966, almost 60 years ago.

In some areas of the city, temperatures exceeded 38°C. The John F. Kennedy International Airport, in Queens, reached 39°C on Monday afternoon, the first time since 2013 and the first time in history that occurs in June. Laguardia airport, also in Queens, registered a maximum of 38.3°C, matching its record for the month of June.

Edison, the main energy supplier in New York City, asked millions of customers to conserve energy to protect the electricity grid as temperatures soared.

“When working with all our clients to reduce consumption during the maximum demand, we protect the system and support the neighborhoods individually.”

—Con Edison, Publication on X

Washington reached 37.2°C, staying close to its first day of 38°C of the year this Tuesday, something that usually does not happen until mid -July. Temperatures in the capital of the capital reached 57°C, the system reported on Meter in xwhich forced operators to reduce the speed of trains.

When Will the Heat End?

Some parts of the east coast will begin to feel relief on Wednesday, although it will be a slow beginning.

Wednesday will continue to warm up, but it will not be so extreme for many. Temperature records may be broken, mainly in the middle Atlantic, but three-digit temperatures will be left behind in the northeast.

A more typical heat of the end of June will arrive on Thursday, although the morning will remain quite warm and prolong the wait for relief. Much of the northeast will have maximum in the 20°C, with temperatures at 27-32°C and some 32-35°C persistent in the middle Atlantic.

The minimal night and more common temperatures will finally return on Friday in the east, and the normal heat of the end of June will be maintained during the weekend.

However, temperatures are likely to rise above average earlier next week.

This week’s heat wave is likely just the beginning of a hot summer in the eastern U.S. A warmer summer is expected normal for the entire U.S. continental territory, according to the Climate Prediction Center.